


Small Stories

by MyOwnSuperintendent



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fantastic Racism, Ficlet Collection, Grief
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-22
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-02-18 08:24:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 31,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2341619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyOwnSuperintendent/pseuds/MyOwnSuperintendent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a collection of fics written for prompts on tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Masks (Catelyn/Ned)

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own A Song of Ice and Fire or anything related to it. Hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned meets a charming woman at a masquerade ball, but learning her identity leads to turmoil. AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this ficlet was "Ned/Cat: Meeting at a masquerade ball." It is rated G.

He never feels truly at ease at balls of any sort, and he cannot decide if the masked kind are worse, because bad behavior seems to run especially rampant when people have the excuse of not being able to see faces, or better, because at least no one knows who the man sitting awkwardly off to the side, unsure what to do with himself, is. He could be sitting here all night, he thinks. Lyanna is dancing with a man in a glittering silver mask, and Brandon has not reappeared yet; he went somewhere with a woman in a purple gown earlier in the evening, and Ned is afraid of what he might discover if he tried to search for him. 

"What do you think of the ball?"

He looks up to see a woman standing beside him. He cannot see her face, of course, but he can tell that she is pretty; she is tall and slim and has glorious red hair. He wonders why she is bothering with him. 

"I…I like it well enough," he stammers.

She takes a seat next to him. “Did you come with anyone?”

"Just my brother and sister," Ned says. "But my sister is dancing, and my brother…well, there is no telling where he is."

She laughs. “Things do get a bit out of hand at these things.” She pauses for a bit, resting her chin in her hand. Her eyes are all that Ned can see of her face; they are a lovely blue, and at the moment they look very thoughtful.

"I’m sorry," she says after a moment. "I was just thinking…I was looking for my…for someone too, and I haven’t seen him since the beginning of the evening. But I shouldn’t burden you with this. So, how do you know our hosts?"

He finds himself talking more than usual, as he tells her about his boyhood at school with Robert; she seems to find their misadventures very amusing. She is a lively conversationalist herself, and when Ned next glances at the clock he is surprised at how close to the end of the evening it is.

"They’re starting the last dance," she says, and he imagines that she expects him to ask her; he is no dancer, and yet she makes him want to do so.

"Are you engaged for it?" he asks, and when she shakes her head no he says, "Then would you…would you dance with me?"

"I’d like that very much," she says.

Soon they are out on the floor, and he feels no more graceful than ever. But somehow it matters less than usual; her steps are light, and he enjoys how she feels in his arms.

Then the clock is striking midnight, and Robert is shouting boisterously. “Unmask, everyone!” 

Ned takes off his own mask and then looks at her. She is not just pretty; she is incredibly beautiful, and what is most beautiful of all is the smile that she is wearing right now.

"Might I have your name?" she asks.

"Eddard Stark," he says, and that smile fades. "And…and yours?" he says, wondering what is wrong.

"I’m Catelyn Tully," she says, and just then Brandon pushes his way through the crowd towards them.

"There you are, Ned! And Catelyn too. I see you’ve met."

Catelyn Tully. Brandon’s fiancee, the one to whom he’d promised to introduce Ned once Ned got back from the city. This woman who actually seemed to enjoy talking and dancing with him—and he could barely admit to himself how much he’d enjoyed it too.

It is all the fault of these masks.


	2. Welcome Home (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Ned is finally done with a busy time at work, Catelyn finds a special way to celebrate his new-found freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this story was "Ned/Cat: Giving a lap dance."

Ned had said last night that his case would likely be finished today, and Catelyn couldn’t have been more grateful. He wouldn’t have been Ned if he didn’t take his work seriously, but he’d been so busy over the past few weeks. He’d spent a lot of time at work, and she’d missed him, and when he had been home he’d been so tired that he usually fell asleep right away and…well, she had missed him. It was only three o’clock, and she was already thinking of a variety of special ways to congratulate him on the conclusion of his case—but, as she heard a crash and a shout of “RICKON, YOU CAN’T PUT THE DOG ON THE BOOKCASE!”, she thought ruefully that they would probably have to wait until quite late that night.

But when she went to pick up Arya at soccer practice, she ran into Maege Mormont, who said that her younger girls were planning to spend the night camping in the backyard and wanted Arya to come. “Of course, that would be lovely,” Catelyn said. And when they got home and Sansa asked why Arya got to spend the night at a friend’s and she didn’t, Catelyn told her that she was welcome to spend the night at a friend’s if she could find one to stay with, which she did within the span of ten minutes. And then Robb called to say that he was staying at Lyanna’s because he and Jon had “important things to do,” which probably translated to eating more pizza than humanly possible, but tonight she wasn’t going to question it. For Bran and Rickon, she called in a favor with Edmure.

Her nicer lingerie had rather fallen by the wayside in recent years, but there was still some in the drawer, and she slipped into a dark blue bra and panties, both of them trimmed in black lace. And she put on heels. Anything else, she decided, would be overkill.

It was around 6:00 when she heard the door open and Ned’s voice call, “Hello?”

"I’m in the living room," she called back. 

He walked into the room, and his jaw all but dropped. “Cat…God, Cat, you’re stunning.” He looked around vaguely. “I assume the kids are…?”

"Elsewhere, yes," she said.

"This might make me sound like a bad parent, but good," he said, dropping his briefcase and coming towards her. "I want you…"

She put out a hand to stop his progress. “Not quite so fast. How did the case finish up?”

"Fine. Great. Don’t tease me."

"Well, in that case, you deserve a reward." She gestured to the couch. "Please have a seat, Mr. Stark. Trust me, it’ll be worth your while."

When he was seated, she settled herself over his lap. She rolled her hips slowly, experimentally, and heard him groan. She smiled at the sound, licking her lips, and rolled her hips again.

Catelyn didn’t know that much about this sort of game, perhaps—it wasn’t something they’d done before—but she knew quite a lot about Ned, what turned him on, what sort of touches drove him crazy. And so she rolled her hips faster, finding a rhythm, feeling him hard beneath her, and brought her hands up to cup her own breasts, pressing them together, enjoying the look on Ned’s face and the sound of his breathing as it grew more unsteady.

"Shall I let my hair down?" she asked.

"Yes, please," he breathed, and she pulled out the combs that held her bun together, tossing them to the floor. Her hair was down around her face now, moving with her, brushing his face as she moved against him.

He reached out to pull her down into a kiss then, and she leaned into it even as she laughed. “I don’t think you’re supposed to do that.”

"I don’t care what I’m supposed to do," Ned groaned. "I think I might die if I can’t fuck you right now."

She shivered, loving it when he talked like that. “Well, I can’t have that on my conscience.” And she moved to take off his shirt. She stayed straddling him, though, continuing to roll her hips as she undid the buttons, keeping the dance going until he slipped off her bra and carefully rolled her underneath him on the couch and she could think about nothing except having him.


	3. Surprises at Suppertime (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Brandon and his friends show up at their apartment unexpectedly, Ned and Catelyn are very annoyed...but Ned finds a way to make the evening enjoyable after all. Modern AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this story was "Ned/Cat: one trying to go down on the other, under the table, during dinner."

It made sense that Ned was irritated; she was pretty irritated too, if it came to that.  They had really planned on being alone tonight.  During the week, they both tended to turn in early because of school (law for him, second grade teaching for her), so Friday nights were usually their time.  And now Brandon had shown up with his current girlfriend, not to mention another couple, neither of whom Catelyn or Ned even knew, and tried to persuade them to join in on a night on the town.  And when they said oh no, they were too tired to go out, he had not taken the hint.  As of right now, he was still in their living room, along with his friends, and he was drinking all of their wine, and Catelyn had a strong urge to kick him.  And he had just told Catelyn that she was “looking pretty hot these days,” so she was worried that Ned actually would kick him.

She didn’t take it seriously herself, of course.  First of all, his girlfriend was right there, and Catelyn didn’t think anyone would care to screw around on Barbrey Ryswell’s watch.  Besides, Brandon flirted with everyone—single women, women in relationships, young women, old women, his friends’ moms, the occasional inanimate object.  But, unfortunately, “everyone” also included his brother’s girlfriend who happened to be his ex, and Ned was always a little irrational where Brandon was concerned.  She understood where Ned’s feelings were coming from—it couldn’t be easy to be dating someone your brother had once dated, especially if that brother was Brandon—but she still wished he would get past them.  She didn’t have the slightest interest in Brandon anymore; she was happier with Ned in every way, and as far as she was concerned, that was what mattered.

"How long do you think they’re planning to stay?" Ned muttered to her as they stood in the kitchen.

"I have no idea," she said.  "Believe me, I’ve been hinting as hard as I can."

"He keeps looking at your butt."

How was she supposed to respond to that?  “Honestly, Ned, I didn’t notice.”

"You can’t notice someone looking at your own butt."

"Ned, please don’t be like this," Catelyn said.  "I’m not interested in Brandon, okay?  I want them to go away as much as you do."

"I’m sorry, Cat," Ned said.  "It’s not you, it’s Brandon."

"Well, forget about it, please," Catelyn said.  She peered around the kitchen door; none of their uninvited guests seemed in a hurry to go.  "Let’s finish getting dinner together anyway.  Then, if we start eating, hopefully they’ll finally get the hint."

But they had ordered takeout, and they always got enough to have leftovers, so the food was ample for six people.  “Oh, awesome, food!” Brandon said when he saw them setting it out.  Barbrey and the other couple followed him to the table, and Catelyn wondered what on earth would get them to go. 

The mood did not improve as they started eating.  Ned was glowering at Brandon, and she thought Brandon had probably guessed why, because now he was directing his conversation pointedly to her, complimenting her hair, making jokes that were just this side of decent.  She still didn’t take it seriously.  He was just trying to bug Ned, she knew, but he was succeeding all too well, and she thought that a fight might break out.

"So!" she said, turning to the woman from the other couple, whose name, she thought, was Ellaria.  "Where did you say you live?"

"I didn’t," Ellaria said, "but Oberyn and I live downtown."  She gestured to her boyfriend.  "We moved from Dorne last month."

"Oh?" Catelyn said.  "It must be so beautiful there.  I’ve always wanted to visit."

"It is," Ellaria said.  "I miss the heat."

"Oh, I know what that’s like," Catelyn said.  "I’m from further south myself—it’s been a bit of an adjustment." 

"Now I’m from around here," Brandon interjected, "but I definitely see the advantages of warm places.  The way people dress, for one thing."  The comment could have been innocent, but the way he looked at her certainly wasn’t.  She saw Ned half-rise from his seat and was about to tell Brandon in no uncertain terms to knock it off when there was a crashing noise.  Looking over, she saw that Barbrey had knocked a bowl of noodles off the table; pieces of bowl, sauce, and the noodles themselves were scattered on the floor.

"Oh, I’m so sorry," Barbrey said, not sounding particularly sincere.  "I can help clean up—"

"Leave it," Ned said quickly, standing up from his seat.  "I’ll get it."  He went into the kitchen and soon returned with some paper towels.  He began to wipe the floor under and around the table, and Catelyn returned to her food and her conversation with Ellaria, ignoring Brandon as best she could.

The next thing that happened, though, was impossible to ignore: a hand on her thigh.  For half a second, she thought that Brandon had really gone too far, before she realized that, considering where they were sitting, there was no way he could be the one touching her.  It was Ned, of course, but it surprised her; he usually wasn’t one to get physical in front of other people.  Of course, it really wasn’t in front of other people now; he was under the table, and she quickly squeezed his hand with her own and continued talking about the trials of moving house.

But Ned’s hand slipped higher up, under her skirt, up to the waistband of her underpants.  He moved slowly, and she could have stopped him if she’d wanted to.  She probably should have, but she was curious, and a little aroused, and so she sat there and continued her conversation while he gently tugged her underpants down around her knees.  And then his mouth was almost on her, and she was finding it just a little bit hard to breathe, and she heard him whisper, “Can I?”

The right answer, of course, was no.  There were four other people in the room.  She was terrible at staying quiet when he went down on her.  And she would never, never, never, never live it down if Brandon figured out what was going on. 

But God, she wanted it.  She could already feel herself getting wet.  And it was what they would have been doing right now anyway if all these people hadn’t shown up and refused to leave.  So, on the pretense of adjusting her napkin in her lap, Catelyn reached down and pulled Ned’s head closer against her.

The next few minutes seemed to exist on two different levels.  There was the conversation—

_"I was really lucky that my dad helped me move"—_

and the thoughts going through her head—

_nothing had ever felt so good, nothing, as the way Ned’s mouth was moving over her now, teasing her clit, his tongue swirling around her._

There were her actions—

_she moved her chair closer to the table—_

and the reasons behind them—

_she needed to be closer to Ned right now, to be able to move her hips and press herself against his mouth._

There were the noises she was allowing herself to make—

_she couldn’t help a little squeak, but she covered it with a pretended coughing fit, declaring that her water had gone down the wrong way—_

and the noises that she was barely suppressing—

_she wanted to moan, to scream; he was licking her clit harder now, and he had a finger inside her, and how did he expect her to be able to keep it together?_

There were the other people at the table—

_there were other people here, weren’t there—_

and there was Ned—

_there was only Ned, and he knew exactly how she liked it, and his mouth on her was the most unbearably wonderful feeling in the world.  She was close, so very close, and then she was coming._

She had picked up her napkin and gone into another fake coughing fit, hoping to cover up both any sounds she might make and the inevitable flush that she got when she was aroused.  She kept it over her face as Ned slid her underpants back up her legs.  He kissed her thigh, gently, and then a moment later he was standing up again. 

"I think that’s everything," he said, totally calmly. 

"I am so sorry," Barbrey repeated.  "Anyway, it’s getting pretty late.  Shouldn’t we be getting going, Brandon?"

"I guess so," Brandon said.  "Sure we can’t convince you to join us, Cat?  Ned?"

"I’m really afraid not," Catelyn said.  "We really want to stay in tonight."  After this recent performance, she had a lot of plans for Ned.

They all said their goodbyes; while the others were talking, Ellaria leaned in to Catelyn.  “Your boyfriend seems like a keeper,” she said, and while Catelyn was trying to figure out if that meant what she was afraid it meant, Oberyn winked at her.

Catelyn’s first instinct was to want to sink through the floor, but she decided that she’d try to be as casual about it as they were being.  “Well, I definitely think he is,” she said.  It was true, after all.  And she’d be lying if she tried to claim that she hadn’t enjoyed what Ned had just done or even that knowing that other people had caught on made her regret it. 

Ellaria laughed.  “You two have a good night, now.”  And then the four intruders were gone at last.

"Ellaria and Oberyn totally knew what was happening," she told Ned. 

He went pale.  “Are you sure?”

"Pretty sure."

"Oh God," he said.  "Catelyn, I am so sorry.  I shouldn’t have…I was jealous and I let it run away with me…I was an idiot…I’m sorry…"

Catelyn kissed him.  “Don’t be sorry.  I loved it.”  She took her hands in his.  “There’s nothing to worry about.  They aren’t going to bother us about it.  And Brandon and Barbrey had no idea.”  She leaned closer.  “I don’t think Brandon has the imagination.”

"Oh?"  Ned began trailing kisses along her neck, and she let her eyes close.

"Definitely not," she said.  "But you, Ned Stark, have an incredible imagination.  And I…mmm…I have a bit of an imagination myself."

"I believe it," Ned said.  "What are you imagining right now, Cat?"

She smiled at him.  “Let me show you.” 


	4. A Private Moment (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During a visit to Riverrun, Ned and Catelyn steal a moment alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this story was "Ned/Cat: one pinning the other against a wall."

Cat always shone in company, and tonight was no exception. If anything, she shone even more brightly than usual; if Ned hadn’t already known how happy she was to be visiting Riverrun, he would have seen it in everything about her tonight. It was in the way she smiled her fullest smile, in her easy laughter, in her eager conversation with her father and brother. And she looked especially beautiful. She looked different in some ways—she was wearing a lighter gown and had done her hair in a southron style—but it was mostly the joy that did it, that made her usual beauty all the brighter. He always loved seeing her like this. It gave him such pride to know that she was his wife.

"You look so lovely, Cat," he murmured to her.

She smiled, giving his thigh a quick squeeze. “Thank you, my love.”

She coaxed him into dancing with her after dinner, and he pressed her close, enjoying how she felt in his arms. He leaned in to steal a kiss at one point, and Cat laughed. “You are very bold tonight, my lord.”

"Is that a complaint?" he asked.

She shook her head, her eyes very bright. “I don’t think I could ever complain about your touch.” Her mouth was pressed against his ear as she added, “Except that right now I’d like to have you touching me a little more. But I suppose that will have to wait…”

Her words were doing things to him that were certainly indecent in a room with her father and brother and any number of other men. “Cat, do not talk to me like that here.”

Her voice was soft and teasing. “What shall you do to me if I do?”

If he told her what it was making him want to do, he would only get more aroused himself, and he didn’t think it would deter her one bit. He settled for kissing her again and for whispering, “I hope this evening will be over very soon.”

It wasn’t over quite soon enough for Ned, but it was over eventually, and he made himself walk slowly out of the hall with Cat, not dragging her behind him in haste to get to the bedchamber they had been given, not putting his hands all over her. Once they were almost up the stairs, though, out of sight of the others, she grabbed him and kissed him, and then there was no stopping. They made their way down the corridor entwined with each other, her hands under his shirt and her nails scraping over his skin, his own hands moving up to cup and squeeze her breasts, both of their mouths seeking out any bare skin they could find. They were at the bedchamber then, and he was about to push the door open when she grabbed his wrist. “Wait.”

"I can’t wait," Ned said. "Not much longer…"

"Wait," Cat repeated. "We can’t go in there like this, Ned. Sansa…"

Ned groaned as he remembered. Their six-year-old daughter had been feeling poorly all day, and Cat had had her in their room earlier, trying to soothe her. She had eventually fallen asleep in their bed, and they had left her there when they went down to dinner, not wanting to wake her. But now… Thank the gods they hadn’t burst in like this, but he was still so desperate for Cat…

"Down the hall."

"What?"

"Down the hall," Cat repeated. "There’s a little alcove…we used to hide there when we were children…no one will see us…come on…" She nearly ran to get there, pulling him along with her, and he followed as quickly as he could.

The space was small but secluded, and it would suit their purpose. Ned pressed Cat up against the wall, covering her body with his own, grasping her hands in his, kissing from her lips down her neck to where the tops of her breasts peeked over her gown. “Yes,” Cat sighed. “Yes, that’s it, Ned…just like that…” She wriggled a hand out of his grasp and reached for the laces of his breeches. “I need to feel you inside me.”

When she had unlaced him, he pushed his breeches and smallclothes down and then reached for her again, wrapping his arms around her hips and lifting her up against the wall. With one hand, he pushed up her skirts and slid her own smallclothes down, stroking his fingers over her sex. She was already wet. “Are you ready?”

"Very ready," Cat said. "Please, Ned, now." 

He entered her, still holding her braced against the wall, and began to move. He tried to go slowly at first, but Cat was having none of that. While she wasn’t able to set the pace from her position, she made her wants known in no uncertain terms. “Faster, Ned,” she demanded. “Gods, Ned, you feel so good…I want you to make me come…” When she talked like that, he couldn’t avoid thrusting into her faster, moaning out her name. She clung to him, her fingers digging into his back, and he could feel how close she was. In another moment she was over the edge, her eyes closed and her cheeks bright red and her voice calling his name. It didn’t take him very long himself after that; she was so beautiful and she felt so good. 

He lowered her down, bracing her in case her legs were unsteady, and they smiled at each other. It was getting quite late, Ned knew, but they spent a few moments standing there kissing before helping each other straighten their clothes and heading off to bed.


	5. Autumn (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For their first vacation together, Catelyn and Ned spend an autumn weekend at an inn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this story was "Ned/Cat--First Vacation Away Together"

Figuring out where and when to go was the hardest part. Ned didn't want to go anywhere that would be too hot, and Catelyn didn't want to go anywhere that would be too cold; she was going to the lake with her family in August, and he was going to the mountains with his family in December. So their own vacation--the one for just the two of them--took a while to get off the ground. Eventually it almost became a joke between them: the vacation that might never be.

Which made it all the sweeter when it did happen. It was autumn when they went, taking a long weekend, to a little inn that she'd heard about from a coworker. The weather was somehow perfect for both of them, although she wore a sweater and he didn't when they took their walks. The trees were beautiful, and the wind blew the leaves around and messed up her hair. "Look, they match," Catelyn said, pulling a bright red leaf out of the tangles. Ned shook his head, though, and said, sounding almost shy, that her hair was much more beautiful. But later they sat beneath a tree and he made her a crown out of the leaves; they talked quietly, and she leaned close to him and barely minded when the wind picked up and brought a chill. She wore the crown until it was time to get ready for dinner, when she found that her hair had gotten thoroughly wrapped around the stems. Ned helped her take them out, which somehow led to him helping her off with her shirt, which somehow led to them almost missing their dinner reservations. 

They picked up where they'd left off when they got back from dinner, and when he held her afterwards Catelyn thought about how natural it all felt. It had been almost a year and a half now, and she never wanted it to end. "I love you," she murmured, her head against his chest.

"I love you too, Cat." From the feeling of his kiss, she was sure that he wanted the same thing. 

When they talked about their trip after getting back, Lysa said that, although she didn't want to be rude, it sounded pretty boring, and Robert said that everyone knew that you were supposed to take romantic vacations to places where you had an excuse to be at least half-naked all the time. But their words didn't mean much to Catelyn or to Ned.


	6. Kiss the Cook (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanksgiving with the Stark-Tully family is always chaotic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--Holidays together."

No matter how they do things, the holidays always seem to involve cramming more people than strictly fit there into a single space. If someone else is hosting, it means getting all the kids into the car, which starts to feel smaller and smaller with each mile. If they’re hosting, as they’re doing this year for Thanksgiving, it means a major shake-up in terms of sleeping arrangements as they find space in the house for all the relatives. And whatever arrangements they do make never seem to stick: last night Catelyn thought she heard noises from the basement and went down to find that Arya, Rickon, and the dog had decided to sleep down there “because it was less crowded.”

The day itself is mildly chaotic, of course, with fourteen people around. At least Ned and Catelyn have made strict rules about who’s allowed in the kitchen, since they know by now who’s actually going to be helpful, who has the best of intentions but will still slow things down, and who has no intention of being helpful at all. They take charge of most of the cooking themselves, clad in the matching aprons that Edmure brought as a joke and insisted they wear: they’re bright yellow and say “Kiss the Cook” in large red letters. 

Catelyn is putting a pie into the oven when she hears Robb pass the kitchen, talking on the phone. From what she can hear of his side of the conversation, it’s clear that he’s talking to Jeyne; they had a long conversation last night too, and Catelyn wishes that Robb would spend a bit more time with the family when he’s home from school.

Ned hears him too, and he grins at Catelyn. “We think we’ve got a lot of people here now. Imagine what it’s going to be like when they start getting married.”

Catelyn groans. “Don’t even talk about it. Someone’s going to have to stay in a hotel then. Maybe me.” 

Ned looks faintly horrified by that idea. “You’d leave me here alone?”

"You can come too," Catelyn says. "We’ll find a nice place where they do the cooking for you, and we won’t give out the address." She sighs. "No, I do love seeing everyone. It’s nice when dinner’s finally ready. Just a bit crowded. I’m not ready to add spouses to the mix, though." Not that she’ll have much choice, she thinks. It will happen, in time; her children are getting older every day, incredible as that sometimes seems.

Ned leans in to kiss her cheek. “Well, it won’t be next year, anyway. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Catelyn nods. “I suppose we’ll cope. Anyone who marries one of our kids, though, and comes to one of our Thanksgivings for the first time—well, they might not know what hit them.”

"Very true," Ned says, "but they’ll see the benefits. Just think. If I hadn’t married you, for example, and started doing Thanksgiving together, then I wouldn’t have met Edmure, and I wouldn’t be wearing this gorgeous outfit." He gestures to his apron.

Catelyn laughs. “You look cute,” she says, and she obeys the apron’s instructions.


	7. Five Date Nights (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The more children they have, the busier Ned and Catelyn get--but they always do their best to make time for the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--Date Night."

_One_

It had been so long since they were able to do anything like this—not since before Robb was born, back in September.  It seemed like everything had been crazy since then.  Having the one baby had been change enough, and then, all of a sudden, they’d had two.  It wasn’t something they could have planned for; no one had expected it, Lyanna dead all of a sudden without ever having said anything about who the father was and Jon theirs to take care of now, sleeping in his crib next to Robb’s.  Almost all of their time had been spent on the babies, and Catelyn had felt like she was barely getting by sometimes.  She hadn’t wanted to say anything, though, not when Ned was grieving his sister (and she’d felt bad, too, that she hadn’t had the energy to help him get through that).  But she hadn’t been able to keep it in forever: she’d burst into tears one night when they were putting the babies to bed, and then Ned had known that something was wrong.  They’d had a succession of long talks that weekend, coming up with ideas for how they could make things at least somewhat easier.  Ned had wound up readjusting his work schedule, and life had started to get less crazy.  They’d managed to get more rest and more time for the two of them, but they’d still been very busy, of course, and the idea of snatching a whole evening for themselves had seemed impossible.

But tonight it was finally happening.  Benjen was in town and was going to watch Robb and Jon, and Catelyn and Ned were going to go out to dinner.  Just getting ready for it was exciting: putting on her favorite blue dress, the one that she hadn’t worn since before she was pregnant, and arranging her hair in an up-do, with a few strands falling around her ears. 

Ned was waiting by the door when she came into the restaurant; he kissed her cheek and told her that she looked beautiful.  And it felt so nice to be on a date again: to linger over their dinner and laugh together and talk about things that had nothing to do with baby care.  The way Ned looked at her made her feel warm inside, and so did his arm around her as they walked to the car, and so did the kisses they snuck at red lights.

Robb and Jon were both asleep when they got back, and Benjen had the good grace not to stick around too long after they thanked him for his help.  They hurried up to their bedroom then, and one of Ned’s hands was unpinning her hair while the other was unzipping her dress, and his mouth was on her neck, and it all felt so good.

_Two_

They’d planned on going to the 7:00 movie, but they were going to miss it now.  Every time they tried to leave, Sansa would start up again.  Their one-year-old daughter did not like the idea of having her parents away from her, and no amount of rocking and cuddling and murmuring, “It’s all right, sweetheart, Mommy and Daddy will be back soon” did any good.  Catelyn knew that they should just go now—that they should say goodbye and leave her with the babysitter and that she would be fine—but it was hard to force herself to leave the room when Sansa was weeping so inconsolably.

"Shh, Sansa."  Ned was holding her at the moment, patting her back gently.  "Shh, my sweet girl.  Everything will be all right.  Shh, shh, shh."  Sansa gave a shaky sob, and Ned kissed the top of her head.  "There we are.  You’re going to be fine.  Mommy and Daddy love you, and everything is all right.  Shh."  He walked with her as he spoke, and Catelyn held her breath, thinking that Sansa did look as though she were beginning to drop off.  A few more minutes and her head had drooped against Ned’s shoulder.  He lowered her into her crib as carefully as he could, and they hurried to leave before she could wake up and start crying again, calling a quick goodbye to the babysitter as they left.

The movie they’d planned to see wasn’t showing again until after nine, and they wound up going to something else, something that was long on explosions and short on plot; they turned to each other about forty minutes in and rose as one to go.  It was a warm night, fortunately, and they were able to walk around downtown.  They wandered into a bookstore and browsed for a while, calling out to each other when one of them saw something they thought the other would like.  And they finished up the evening at the ice cream place, where they shared a hot fudge sundae.

Sansa was asleep when they got back, smiling peacefully and holding on to her rag doll; they straightened her blankets before they went to bed.

_Three_

Arya had been an early walker and an early runner, and now, at one and a half, she had become an accomplished crib escape artist, no matter how often Ned and Catelyn lowered the mattress.  The idea of leaving her for the evening was a little worrisome.  But they had these tickets to the symphony.  “Don’t give her any encouragement,” Catelyn told the babysitter.  “Put her right back in if she gets out.”

"Think she’ll stay put?" Ned asked as they drove away.

"I hope so," Catelyn said.  "But let’s try not to worry about it.  This is our night out."  And she turned the conversation to the music they’d be hearing that night. 

It was easy enough not to worry about Arya once the music started.  It was simply beautiful, and Catelyn sat beside Ned, their hands intertwined, taking it all in.  Even the baby, who’d spent the whole day kicking her hard, seemed soothed by the music, as the movements she felt from her belly became much more gentle. 

"It was so beautiful," she said as they walked back to the car.  Then she yawned.

Ned smiled at her.  “Tired?”

"A little." 

"Let’s get you home then."  Ned kissed her as they stood by the car, laying a hand on her belly, and she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around him.

It turned out that Arya had stayed in her crib after all, and all four children were sound asleep when Catelyn and Ned looked in on them.  They fell asleep quickly enough themselves, too, with Ned’s arms wrapped around her.

_Four_

With five kids between the ages of three and ten, having time alone was enough of a novelty that they didn’t really need to do anything else to make it special.  Arya and Bran were going to spend the night at Edmure’s place, and Sansa, Robb, and Jon were staying with friends.  They’d spent much of the early evening dropping the kids off, but now they were home alone at last. 

They made dinner together—stuff that the kids wouldn’t eat—and then they ate together, relishing the chance to take their time and to talk without any sort of interruptions.  And there was a movie on TV that they’d wanted to see, so they watched that, cuddled together on the couch, able to get through the whole thing without needing to pause it once. 

Then they went up to bed.  They took their time there, undressing each other slowly.  It had been a busy day, and she hadn’t had the chance to put anything sexy on—she was wearing a sweater and jeans and sensible underwear—but from the way Ned looked at her, she could tell that it didn’t make any difference to him.  He kissed her everywhere, his lips teasing her skin, and when they made love he cried out her name loudly.  After all, there was no one around to hear them.

They made love twice that night and again, lazily, when they woke up.  It wasn’t often that you got to extend a date night into the morning, and they thought that they might as well make the most of it.

_Five_

"We haven’t had a date night in a long time," Ned remarked one evening.

"Well, I’m a little wary about them now," Catelyn said, smiling.  "Look what happened the last time."  Rickon, in her arms, let out a loud crow, as if he knew that he was being discussed.  "Of course I’m very happy about it, but six might be my limit."

"We’ll be careful," Ned said.  "I want some time with you, Cat."

"I want some time with you too, my love," Catelyn said.  "I don’t know where we’re going to find it, though.  Wait until I’ve put him to bed, and then we’ll try to figure something out."

Inevitably, other things came up between putting Rickon to bed and sitting down for a conversation, but eventually they got to it.  They pored over the family’s calendar, eventually determining that there might be one night within the next month that they could make it work.  If nothing came up.

"Well, we’ll try, anyway," Catelyn said, writing "Date Night?" on the calendar in pencil.  "If it does work out, what do you want to do?"

Their first ideas were sensible ones—dinner, movie—and then Ned suggested a hot air balloon ride, pointing out that since they weren’t even sure that they were going to get to do it, their plans didn’t have to make sense.  Things got steadily more outlandish from there—mountain climbing, tropical vacations, backpacking in Europe—and by the end of the night, they were tentatively planning to sail around the world.

Whatever they actually ended up doing, Catelyn was sure she’d enjoy it.  She cuddled up to Ned in bed, remembering how much they’d both laughed when coming up with silly plans.  They’d had fun because they were together, and that was all she needed; that was what made a date night good. 


	8. Next Step (Ned/Catelyn)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a weekend spent apart, Ned and Catelyn decided to move in together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--Moving in together."

Cat opened the door what seemed like two seconds after he knocked, and then she was in his arms.  “I missed you,” she said.

"I missed you too," Ned said.  He leaned down to kiss her.  He’d only been away for four days, but it had seemed much longer somehow.

"I was thinking," Cat said, once they were inside the apartment and settled together on her couch.  "It felt like you were away for a really long time.  And then I counted back and I realized—we’ve basically been spending every night together for two months now.  So I think that was why it felt long."  She was silent for a moment, fidgeting with a piece of her hair.  "I really like spending all that time together, though.  And so I was thinking, like I said—would you be interested in moving in together?"

"Yes," Ned said.  He had thought about it before himself, especially in the last few months, when they’d been together so much.  He loved Cat.  He loved being with her.  He hadn’t said anything about living together yet because he hadn’t wanted to take things too fast for her, but now that Cat was suggesting it, he was on board.  He wondered if he sounded like he hadn’t put any thought into it, though, answering so quickly.  "I mean, I’ve thought about it too.  And I would definitely like to, if you would."

"I really would," Cat said.  "I know there’s stuff we’ll have to talk about and figure out—"

"Of course—"

"But maybe we could do that tomorrow?  Because right now I haven’t touched you in four days and I don’t think I’d be able to concentrate."

Cat had to be out earlier than Ned the next morning, and she must have gotten up quietly, because she was gone when he woke up.  When he went into the kitchen, he saw that she’d left him the spare key on the counter.  It lay atop a piece of paper.  As he picked up the key, Ned saw that it was a list, written in Cat’s handwriting.  _Apartment Things to Talk About_ , it was headed.  Below that, it continued:

_Keep one of our places?  Or new?  Location?_  
 _How much rent?_  
 _How much space?  (How long staying?)  
_ _Thermostat!_

Ned grinned.  He picked up a pen and drew an arrow to the last item, writing _I’ll be sure to keep you warm whatever happens.  See you tonight!_ before heading out for the day.


	9. Caring For You (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While pregnant with Bran, Catelyn has bad morning sickness. Ned takes care of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--Taking care of the other while sick."

"How are you feeling?"

Catelyn looked up to see Ned in the doorway.  She hadn’t been able to keep anything in her stomach all morning, which seemed like it had been the case every day since she’d found out that she was carrying their fourth babe.  She wasn’t feeling too nauseated at the moment, though.  “A bit better now, I think.”

Ned came to stand beside her bed.  “Is there anything that I can get for you?”

Catelyn shook her head.  “I don’t think so, Ned.  We just have to wait for it to pass.”

It was plain that this answer did not suit Ned at all.  He frowned, bending to take a look at her face, which she knew still looked paler than usual.  “I’m worried about you, love.”

"Don’t be worried," Catelyn said.  "It happens to all women."

Ned looked very unconvinced.  “Not this long and not this bad,” he said.  “It wasn’t like this for you with the girls.  Was it like this with Robb?” 

Catelyn shook her head.  “Well, no.  But I’m sorry to be worrying you—”

 ”Cat, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Ned said.  He put a hand on her shoulder, and she leaned into the touch.  “This isn’t your fault.  Just get all the rest you need, love.”  He kissed her temple.

"I will," Catelyn said.  "I truly am feeling better at the moment, though, Ned.  I’d like to try getting up for a bit, I think."

"Are you certain?"

Catelyn nodded.  “I’m certain.”

Ned insisted on helping her up, supporting her with an arm behind her back as she rose from the bed.  The minute she took her first tentative step away from the bed, though, Catelyn realized that trying to get up had been a mistake.  The nausea rose up in her stomach, and she sat back down as quickly as she could. 

"Oh," she said.  "Oh, I feel—"  And then she shut her mouth quickly, worried that she’d vomit all over herself if she kept it open another second. 

Ned grabbed the basin off the table and brought it to her, sitting down beside her on the bed and pulling her hair back from her face.  There wasn’t much in her stomach, but her body was determined to expel what was there, and she couldn’t fight it.  She was dimly aware of Ned rubbing her back as she vomited, and she couldn’t deny that she was glad to have him there.

When it was over, Ned looked at her, his face concerned.  “You should go back to bed,” he said, and she nodded.  “I’m going to bring you some water.”  Catelyn settled herself back into her bed as Ned took the basin away and filled a cup with water from a jug.  “Drink a bit,” he said, bringing her the cup, and Catelyn sipped slowly.  He’d put some water on a cloth too, and he wiped her forehead and cheeks. 

"Now rest, Cat," Ned said.  "I’m going to ask Maester Luwin to look in on you again later."

"Would you stay with me for a bit?"  Catelyn asked the question before she knew what she was saying.  She did want him with her… But Ned was busy, she knew, and he couldn’t really do anything more for her now.

But Ned said, “Of course, my lady,” and he didn’t seem to give the answer a second thought.  He lay down on the bed beside her, gently putting an arm around her, and she leaned against him as she rested. 


	10. Group Project (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned has a crush on his brother's girlfriend, but he knows he can't act on it. When they get assigned to work on a group project together, though, his feelings become harder to ignore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--popular kid in school/nerd AU."

Ned knew who she was, of course: Catelyn Tully, president of the class council, smart and pretty and with lots of friends.  Whether she knew who he was was a lot less certain.  They were in US History together, but they’d never talked.  He mostly kept his head down. 

He certainly didn’t expect to see her at his kitchen table.  But there she was when he came down to get lunch one Saturday afternoon.  “Hi, Ned!” she said, giving him a cheerful wave.  “How are you?”

So she did know who he was.  But what… “Hi, Catelyn,” he said.  He should probably say something else, he knew.  At the moment he couldn’t think of anything.  _What are you doing here?_ seemed rude.

Catelyn didn’t seem to like the silence very much.  “Your house is nice,” she said quickly.  “I like your yard.”

"Thank you," Ned said.  "I…um, where in town do you live?"

"On River Street," she said.  "You know, near the library?"  Ned nodded.

"All set, Cat!"  Ned turned around to see his older brother standing in the kitchen doorway.  He was holding his ice skates and smiling at Catelyn.  "You ready to go?"

"Sure."  Catelyn got up from the table and went to join Brandon, and Ned noticed how she slipped his hand into his.  _Were they…?_ Then Brandon leaned down and kissed her, and Ned had his answer.  “Bye, Ned,” Catelyn said when they pulled away from the kiss.  “See you in history on Monday.”

"Cool, you two know each other," Brandon said.  "Catch you later, Ned." 

The two of them left then, and Ned set to work making a sandwich, thinking about what he’d just seen.  So Brandon and Catelyn were dating.  It made sense, really.  They were both the kind of people that everyone liked—outgoing, charismatic, attractive.  They had a lot of friends at school, and everyone knew who they were.  Not for the first time, Ned found himself considering the differences between himself and his older brother.  He could never be anything like Brandon, he knew; talking to people and getting to know everyone didn’t come naturally to him.  Usually, he didn’t mind too much.  He liked school: he had his friends, and he did well in his classes, and if he wasn’t going to parties every weekend like Brandon, that meant that he had more time to study.  He knew he wasn’t very exciting, but he was content.  And if he felt a little less content at the moment, that was something he should just ignore.  He was not upset about them dating.  He wasn’t.  He was just surprised, since he hadn’t known anything about it.  And why should he have known?  He didn’t even really know Catelyn.

Almost inevitably, he started to know her a little more, though.  She came around to the house a lot, with Brandon, and they always talked when she was there.  They didn’t talk about anything much—it was all small talk, or things about history class—but it was nice.  He was used to not being part of the conversation when Brandon and his girlfriends were around, but Catelyn always tried to draw him in.  The more she did it, though, the harder it was for him to lie to himself.  He couldn’t keep saying that he was just surprised that she and Brandon were dating, not now that it had been going on for weeks.  No, he had to admit it: he liked her in a way that he shouldn’t.  He didn’t want to, but he found himself thinking about how pretty she looked, admiring the answers she gave in class, and occasionally thinking that she didn’t belong with Brandon.  The last thought made him feel especially guilty.  The fact that he liked her didn’t mean that he should be criticizing his brother or thinking that she didn’t know what she was doing.  It was none of his business.  He would make himself get over it, he decided.  He wouldn’t hang out with them too much when they were at the house.  He would be polite, of course, but that was all.

But of course it didn’t work out like Ned wanted it to.  Of course, as soon as he decided he was going to get over it, his history teacher announced a group project.  Of course she was going to assign the groups.  And of course, ten minutes later, Ned found himself sitting with Rhaegar Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, Melisandre Asshai—and Catelyn.  Of course.

"Are you even paying attention?"  Ned looked up to find Cersei staring at him rather menacingly.

"Sorry, I…I was daydreaming," Ned said.

"Well, I was _saying_ ,” Cersei continued, “that we should divide up and each write part of the presentation.  If you can stop daydreaming for five seconds, maybe you can tell us which part you’re going to write?”

"Sure," Ned said.  Dividing up the work.  That was good.  That meant that he wouldn’t be working side by side with Catelyn the whole time.  It would be easier.

And then a few minutes later, when they’d finished deciding who would work on which part, Catelyn said, “We should get started this week.  And then we should meet up next Friday to see how far we’ve gotten and start putting things together.  Can we meet at someone’s house after school?”

"I live really near.  We can go to my house."  What had made him say it? 

And Catelyn’s smile almost made it feel worth it.  “Great.  Ned’s house this Friday, then?”  The rest of the group agreed.

Even with the work divided up, Ned found himself spending more time with Catelyn than he’d hoped.  Sometimes they were given time in class to work on their presentations.  The meeting at his house concluded with them deciding that they’d meet there again the next week.  And with every session, his feelings got more complicated.  He liked working with her—about a thousand times more than he liked working with Melisandre, who he was pretty sure was on something, or Rhaegar, who claimed that he was writing a song for their presentation but didn’t seem to do much actual work, or Cersei, who considered her main function in the group to be telling everyone else what to do.  Catelyn worked hard and came up with good ideas.  But she kept smiling at him, and she had such a sweet voice, and she’d twist that red hair around her finger while she worked, and it was hard enough to keep his body from responding, let alone his mind.

Catelyn fell into step with him after class one day.  “Is everything okay?” she asked.  “You’ve seemed kind of quiet.”

He shrugged.  “I’m always quiet, I guess.”

"That’s fair," Catelyn said.  "And I suppose it’s kind of hard to get a word in edgewise, since Cersei thinks she owns the group."  She rolled her eyes.  "You have really good ideas, though."

"I…thanks."

She was smiling again.  “You’re welcome.  I’m glad we ended up in the same group.  Group projects always suck, but it’s nice to be with one decent person.”

"You wouldn’t rather be working with your friends?"  He sounded antagonistic, he knew, and Catelyn frowned.

"I mean, I’d like to work with my friends," she said, "but I’m happy to be with anyone who’s smart and puts the work in.  If you have a problem with that for some reason—"

"I don’t have a problem," Ned said quickly.  "I just…group projects.  You’re right.  They suck.  I didn’t mean to take it out on you.  I’m sorry."

"It’s okay," Catelyn said.  "We’ll be done soon enough, anyway.  I’ll talk to you later, Ned!"  She waved as she walked down the hall.

They were all working at his house two days later, sitting around the kitchen table, when Brandon came into the room.  “Look at all these scholars,” he said.  “Hey, beautiful.”  He bent to kiss Catelyn’s neck.  Ned tried to concentrate on the Pinkerton detectives.

"Hey," Catelyn said, kissing him back. 

"What are you all doing?" Brandon asked. 

"A project on the Pinkerton detectives," Catelyn said.  "For history class."

"Looks like there are plenty of you," Brandon said.  "You want to come upstairs for a while?"

Catelyn shook her head.  “Not right now.”

"Why not?"

"Because I’m here to work on the project right now," Catelyn said.  "We can hang out later."

"Aw, come on," Brandon said.  "Everyone here looks capable of holding down the fort.  Right, Ned?"  Ned remained silent—he wasn’t going to get involved in this, he told himself.  "Right, Cersei?"

Cersei looked up from her notebook, a smirk on her face.  “Right.  You two go fuck.  We’ll carry on.”

"Well, there you go," Brandon said.  "No one will mind."  He slipped a hand along her side.

"Excuse me?"  Catelyn was bright red, and she slapped the hand away.  "Contrary to what you may think, I am here to work on this project.  I am not here to hook up, and I am especially not going to hook up with you if you make the whole thing into some kind of public poll!  When I say I’m busy, that means you lay off—that doesn’t mean you ask Ned and Cersei what they think!"

"Babe, I was just kidding."  Brandon leaned in to try to kiss her.

"Well, cut it out."  Catelyn dodged the kiss.  "I want you to leave me alone right now, Brandon."

It was clear that she wasn’t kidding, and Brandon drew away from her.  “You don’t have to be so uptight,” he said, and then he slammed out of the kitchen.

"Trouble in paradise?" Cersei asked.

Catelyn looked like she might throw something at her.  “Would you mind your own business?” she asked. 

"God, you’re touchy," Cersei said.  "Not as perfect as you try to act, are you, Catelyn?"

"Lay off," Ned said.  "Catelyn’s right; we’re here to work on the project.  That’s all."  _That’s all.  Catelyn isn’t here to be with Brandon, and she’s definitely not here to be with you._

They finished work for the day soon afterwards, and Cersei, Rhaegar, and Melisandre went home.  Catelyn remained sitting at the kitchen table; she was staring down at her feet, and Ned thought that she might want to be left alone.  He was about to get up from the table himself when she let out a sigh.

"Are you okay?" Ned asked.

"I…yeah," Catelyn said.  "I guess.  I will be.  I’m just…I’m kind of mad right now.  Brandon is always trying to…push things.  And he loves trying to start stuff in front of other people so that it makes a whole scene…"  She shook her head.  "Sorry.  He’s your brother.  I shouldn’t be talking about this with you."

"It’s okay," Ned said.  "He can be really…too much sometimes."

"Yeah," Catelyn said.  "I mean, I do like him.  We really have fun together.  But, like you said, sometimes he’s too much."  She sighed again and stood up.  "I think I’ll just go home for now.  If he asks, tell him I’ll talk to him tomorrow.  Have a good night, Ned."

"Good night, Catelyn."

Brandon rolled his eyes when Ned told him that Catelyn had gone home, and Ned was treated to a long speech about how oversensitive she was being and how most girls liked knowing when someone was that into them.  “I don’t want to talk about this with you, Brandon,” Ned finally said, and he went into the room that he shared with Benjen and closed the door before Brandon could say anything more.  This was all getting much too complicated.  He reminded himself that they only had a week and a half to go on the project.  And after that he wouldn’t be spending as much time with Catelyn.  And there was no reason to be upset about that.

Afterwards, Ned really had no idea how he’d been so clueless.  He was usually out of the gossip loop, true, and he’d had an English paper due on Monday so he’d spent most of the weekend in his room, but he lived with Brandon, for god’s sake.  He shouldn’t have been blindsided when he showed up to history on Monday morning and Cersei leaned over to his desk and asked, in a voice dripping with false concern, “Are you and Catelyn going to be okay working together today?”

For a moment he was worried that she somehow knew how he felt.  “What?  No.  I mean, yes.  Why wouldn’t we be?”

"She dumped your brother on Saturday."  Cersei had dropped her act and was now openly smiling. 

"She caught him getting a blow job from Barbrey Ryswell,"  Melisandre added, and Ned briefly wondered how the girl who seemed to be perpetually on another planet knew more about this than he did.

But that wasn’t the important question.  The important question was Catelyn—how was she doing?  Was she okay?  Why had Brandon been such an ass?  And then she walked into class and took her seat next to him, and Ned didn’t know what to say. 

Then she tapped him on the arm.  “Can I talk to you for a second?”

"Of course," Ned said.

She looked at him straight on.  “I assume Brandon’s told you that we broke up.”

"He didn’t, actually," Ned said.  "But I heard." 

"So everyone’s talking about it," Catelyn said.  "Great.  Did you get the whole story?"

"I…I don’t know," Ned said.  "Part of it.  I heard why."

She flushed at that, but her voice stayed steady when she said, “Then you’ll understand when I say that I don’t think it’s the best idea for us to work at your house this afternoon.  Could we meet at my house instead?”

"Of course," Ned said.  "That’s totally fine."

"Thanks," she said, and she gave him a small smile. 

Cersei seemed to be the only one in a good mood when they met to work at Catelyn’s.  She didn’t allude directly to what had happened, but almost all of her comments were jabs at Catelyn.  At first, Ned remained quiet—he didn’t want to make it into more of a big thing—but when he saw Catelyn biting at her lip, he decided that he had to say something.

"Would you cut it out, Cersei?" he asked.  "Why are you getting so much joy out of this?"

Cersei rolled her eyes.  “Oh my god, Ned, get over yourself.  No one cares what you think.”

"Just leave Catelyn alone," he said.

"It’s really cute how you think you need to defend her," Cersei said.  "Shouldn’t you be on your brother’s side?  Do you have a boner for her or something?"

Ned had never been so thankful that he didn’t blush easily.  “Just stop,” he said.  “Let’s just finish up the project.”

"Oh, of course, the project," Cersei said.  "Guess it’s easy for you to focus on the project.  You’ve probably never gotten an illicit blow job in your life."

"We’re not talking about this," Ned said.

"Look," Catelyn cut in.  "We know what we’re doing on Friday.  We’ll finish it up in class this week.  Let’s…let’s call it an afternoon."

The other three left quickly enough, and Ned gathered his things to leave too.  He still felt like he needed to say something to Catelyn, though.  “I’m sorry about Brandon,” he said.

"Thanks," Catelyn said.  "It’s okay."  But the last word turned into a sob halfway through, and then she was crying hard.

Ned had no experience with this kind of thing, but he somehow found himself putting his arms around Catelyn as she cried.  And she was leaning into the hug, and her tears were getting his shirt wet, and she was telling him, in broken phrases, all about what had happened.  About the party that they’d gone to on Saturday night and how she’d walked in on Brandon and Barbrey.  About how she’d screamed in surprise, drawing what felt like a million people to witness what happened next.  About the way they’d shouted at each other.

"I knew…I knew Brandon wanted to take things faster than I did," Catelyn said, and Ned half-felt as though he shouldn’t hear this.  But if she needed to talk, he would listen.  "He was always saying, you know, ‘What’s the big deal?’ but I don’t know, I guess it’s a big deal to me, and it didn’t feel right, and maybe that’s stupid, but we didn’t…but he said it was okay if I really didn’t want to and I thought he meant it…I didn’t think he meant he’d just get it from someone else…maybe I should’ve just—"

"No," he said, the firmness of his own voice surprising him.  "You shouldn’t have done anything you didn’t want to do.  I know he’s my brother, but this is one hundred percent Brandon’s fault.  Not yours."

Catelyn sniffled.  “Thanks, Ned,” she said.  “You’re really sweet.”  She looked up at him then, and all of a sudden her mouth was on his.

Ned had never thought he’d really kiss Catelyn, but he’d been unable to help imagining it.  When he’d imagined it, it had always gone perfectly.  In reality, it was awkward and strange, because he’d never kissed a girl before and had no idea what to do, and she was still half-crying.  But one thing was just as he’d imagined: he liked it a lot.

He liked it a lot, but he shouldn’t be doing it.  She and Brandon weren’t dating anymore, but they’d just broken up two days ago.  And this obviously had nothing to do with him, not really.  She couldn’t like him the way he liked her.  So he pulled away, and they stared at each other for a terrible long second.

"Please go home," Catelyn finally said.  "Please, Ned."  She couldn’t meet his eyes anymore, and he grabbed his things as quickly as he could.

"I’m sorry," he said, and he was.  He’d clearly made her feel worse instead of better.

"It’s okay," she said, and her voice was shaky.  "Not your fault.  Please go."  So he did.

They didn’t talk about anything except the project for the rest of the week.  Their group presented on Friday; it went well, and Ned was unspeakably glad when it was over.  Nothing was ever going to happen between him and Catelyn.  He’d just have to accept that.

He saw her the next week when he went to the school band concert—he’d gone to see Robert, who played the tuba—but he didn’t try to approach her.  It was better not to, and she was with a bunch of friends anyway.  As he was about to head out the door, though, he felt a hand tap his shoulder and turned around to see her.

"Hi," she said.  "I’ve been wanting to talk to you.  Can we walk together?"

"I…sure," he said.

As they started down the steps, Catelyn said, “I wanted to say…look, I don’t want us to feel like we have to avoid each other.  We can pretend that last Monday never happened if you want.  I know that you’re not interested in me like that, and that’s fine.”

"I…okay," he said.  "Okay."  His voice didn’t sound very convincing.

"It’s not okay, is it?" Catelyn asked.  "You’re mad at me, aren’t you?  Look, Ned, I’m really sorry.  I shouldn’t have kissed you.  I was being an idiot—"

"You’re never an idiot, Cat.  You’re amazing."  The words were out before he’d thought them through, and he couldn’t believe he’d said them.  But he couldn’t stand seeing her so upset with herself.

Her eyes widened, and she studied his face.  “Ned, I—Ned, you _do_ like me?”

There was no point in pretending now.  “I’ve liked you for a long time, Cat.  But it’s okay.  Look, we can be friends, like you said, if you want.”

"I don’t want to be friends," Catelyn said, and she reached out and grasped his hand.  "I like you, Ned Stark."

She liked him.  Catelyn liked him.  Surely he hadn’t heard that.  “But why?”

Catelyn laughed.  “Why?  Because you’re smart and really really sweet.  And cute.”  It was pretty dark out, but he still saw her flush.  “Now it’s my turn to ask a question.  Why didn’t you say something when I kissed you?”

"I didn’t think you really meant it," he said.  "And besides, Brandon."

She looked thoughtful.  “Yeah, Brandon.  That is kind of a complication.  But it doesn’t bother me if it doesn’t bother you.”

It did bother him, a little—he knew that Brandon wouldn’t like it if the two of them went out.  But Catelyn was smiling at him, and she hadn’t let go of his hand, and he found that it didn’t bother him that much.  “I’ll get past it,” he said.

"Good," Catelyn said.  "Now I have one more question.  Do you want to kiss me again?"

"Oh yes," Ned said, and then he was kissing Catelyn Tully, and this time there was no reason that they had to stop.


	11. Happiness (Lysa/Benjen)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have changed for Lysa over the course of her marriage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this was Lysa/Benjen for a three-sentence fic meme. It's set in the same verse as my other Lysa/Benjen fics.

She dreamed of marrying for love, of being always worshiped and adored, and she thought that she had lost that chance forever.  She thought that she would never be happy again.  But those thoughts are long gone today, when Ben lays his hands on her belly to feel their third child’s kicks.


	12. An Imperfect Match (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catelyn and Ned meet at Lysa's and Jon's wedding, an event about which they both have bad feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--two miserable people meeting at a wedding."

Catelyn still had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

It certainly wasn’t her place to say anything now, though, if it ever had been.  And it wasn’t as though she disliked Jon—she thought that he was very nice, in fact, and he was obviously crazy about Lysa.  If only she could believe that Lysa was just as crazy about him.

She couldn’t help thinking that she’d missed something.   What was going on here that she didn’t know about?  She and Lysa had been so close when they were younger, but now it seemed like Lysa didn’t tell her much.  The whole thing was made more difficult by the fact that they lived in different cities now; they still talked on the phone, of course, but it wasn’t like it had been when they shared a room.  But Catelyn hadn’t realized quite how much things had changed until Lysa had called that afternoon last year, with a “Guess what, Cat?  I’m engaged!”

She’d been shocked—from the way that Lysa had talked about Jon before, she’d had no idea that they were so serious.  She’d managed her congratulations, and at the time she had been sincerely happy, if very confused.  It was when she had begun asking questions later—trying to figure out just how this whole thing had come about—that she’d begun to feel uneasy.  She’d gotten the sense that, for all of her talk about how happy and excited she was, Lysa didn’t want to marry Jon.  Which naturally raised the question of why, in that case, she was planning to marry him.

Catelyn hadn’t been able to figure that out.  Her father seemed ecstatic, and as far as she could tell, he thought that everything was perfectly fine.  She loved Edmure, but he wasn’t going to be any help in a situation like this.  She’d eventually talked it over with Uncle Brynden, and he’d agreed that something felt off.  “You talk to her, Cat,” he’d said.  “She’s more likely to open up to you.”

That might have been true once, but it wasn’t true anymore.  Lysa had evaded any questions Catelyn had tried to ask.  And when she’d tried to raise some of her more neutral concerns—this seemed so sudden, Lysa was just out of college and Jon was so much older—Lysa had blown up at her.  “You just hate seeing anyone else happy, don’t you?” she’d screamed.  “You’re the only one who can ever be happy.” 

And so of course Catelyn had had to say no, of course that wasn’t true, of course she was glad that Lysa was happy.  And that had been that—there hadn’t been any good way to bring up her concerns again at that point. 

Now here she was, wearing a maid of honor dress and wondering what she could have done, feeling uneasy and wishing she had tried harder.

………………………………………………………………………

The whole thing seemed weird to Ned.

Not like it was any of his business.  If Jon was happy, so was he, really, only he couldn’t help thinking that the whole thing was…weird.

Robert certainly thought it was weird, and he’d made pretty much non-stop jokes about it until Ned had told him to cut it out.  He’d had a lot of theories about it, some of which were incredibly weird themselves—aliens played into one.  The crazy theories weren’t what bothered Ned, honestly.  But when Robert had said, “He’s having a mid-life crisis, and it’s going to blow up in his face,” that had gotten to Ned.  He’d defended Jon at the time, had said something about how Jon and Lysa were both adults and they knew what they were doing, but he’d secretly thought that Robert might be right.

He wouldn’t ever say anything to Jon, of course.  They didn’t discuss their personal lives much; Jon had been mentoring him all through law school, and they certainly knew each other well by now, but they tended to stick to professional topics.  Jon had been talking about his upcoming wedding quite a bit recently, though, and Ned had never known what to say in response.  Jon was forty, and Lysa was twenty-three.  And it seemed oddly sudden.  One of Robert’s other theories had been that Lysa was pregnant, but they’d been engaged for ten months, so that was out. 

Ned didn’t really have any reason to think it wouldn’t work out, though.  Jon was over the moon.  And Ned had only met Lysa once or twice, but she seemed nice enough.  She had kind of a sad smile, though.  And he’d never really gotten any sense of why the two of them were together in the first place.

Here he was at their wedding, though.  So he’d have to trust that there was something about it that he just didn’t get.

……………………………………………………………….

The ceremony was over, and that was that.  Lysa looked beautiful in her dress, and she seemed happy enough now, at least, as she and Jon made the rounds and said hello to everyone.

 _Maybe she was right,_ Catelyn thought.  _Maybe you’re just jealous._ She tried telling herself that it would be natural enough if she were, but it didn’t do any good.  She knew that she wasn’t jealous of Lysa, that she didn’t see getting married as some competition that only one of them could win.

 _Well, then maybe you’re just worrying too much,_ she told herself.  _Maybe you can’t get used to the fact that Lysa’s grown up and doesn’t need you to take care of her._   That seemed more likely.  Lysa had been only eight years old when their mother passed away; Catelyn hadn’t been much older herself, of course, but she’d still felt like she needed to look after her sister, to give her all the advice about growing up that she needed.  Now they were both grown up, and it wasn’t her job to do that anymore.  Maybe she missed it.

She still didn’t feel like that was it, though.

There was nothing she could do about it now, though, and she told herself to forget about it.  This was a party, and she was standing off to the side of the room, doubtless frowning, which was no way to behave. She should mingle and talk to people.  She should talk to this man who was standing next to her, who was…also frowning.  All right then.

"Hi," she said.  "I’m Catelyn Tully.  Lysa’s sister." 

"Ned Stark," he said.  They shook hands. 

"Are you a friend of Jon’s?" she asked.  She supposed he must be, as she’d never met him or heard Lysa talk about him; he seemed kind of young, though.  _Doesn’t Jon know anyone his own age?_ she wondered, quickly chastising herself for the thought.

"I suppose you could say that," Ned said.  "He’s been mentoring me through law school.  It was really nice of him to invite me…This is a lovely wedding."

"Yes, it really is," Catelyn said.  "I’m so happy for Lysa.  Jon’s a great guy."  

"Definitely," Ned replied.  "He’s so happy about this too."

"They’re both going to be really happy, I bet," Catelyn said.  She needed to get a hold of herself.  If all she could do was talk in inane platitudes…

She was shaken from her thoughts by a voice calling her name.  “Cat!  There you are!”

 _Complications upon complications_ , Catelyn thought, turning around to greet the owner of the voice.  “Hi, Petyr.”

"I’ve been looking for you," Petyr said.  He leaned in to give her a hug, which she tried not to let go on too long.  "You look beautiful."

"I…thank you," she said.  She didn’t know what to say to him.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like Petyr, but things were awkward between them now.  They’d been friends for a long time, and she liked being friends, but Petyr wanted to be more.  He’d made a pass at her a couple of times, and she’d tried to laugh the whole thing off, but being with him wasn’t as easy as it had once been.

She would keep things light for now, Catelyn decided.  “Here, let me introduce you.  Petyr, this is Ned Stark.  He’s a friend of Jon’s.  And Ned, this is Petyr Baelish.  He’s been a family friend for a long time.”  The two men shook hands.  “Wasn’t it a wonderful wedding?” Catelyn asked.  “Lysa looks so beautiful, doesn’t she?”

"You both do," Petyr said.

Catelyn didn’t know how to respond to that.  She finally settled for, “I’m not the bride,” which barely made any sense, and a laugh that probably sounded as fake as it felt.

"I think I’ll get something to drink," Ned said.  "Can I get either of you anything?"

"Sure," Catelyn said, thankful for the distraction.  "I’ll have…actually, I’ll come with you."  That would solve one of her problems for the moment, anyway.  "It was great to see you, Petyr.  Have fun!"  And she hurried away with Ned before he could suggest coming with them too.

"Thank you," she said to Ned.

He looked puzzled.  “For what?”

Of course, he didn’t know.  What was she thinking?  “It’s just…that guy, there’s some…I mean, he’s kind of into me but I’m just not…so thanks for giving me the excuse to get away.”

"Oh," Ned said.  "No problem."  He smiled at her; they had reached the bar by now.  "What’ll you have?"

They got their drinks and moved away from the bar.  “You said you’re in law school?” she asked him.  He nodded.  “What kind of law do you want to go into?”

He was interested in environmental law, he told her, and they talked about that for a little while; he asked her what she did, and they talked about her second graders. She should be talking to more people, Catelyn knew, but it was nice, for now, to stand here talking to him, away from it all, discussing things that didn’t have her worried.

…………………………………………………………………………..

It had been nice of Jon to invite him, but Ned really didn’t know anybody here.  He’d spent much of the afternoon making odd small talk with various people.  He’d talked to some of Jon’s relatives and some other lawyers, but most of the people he’d met didn’t really stick in his mind. 

Lysa’s sister, though…she had been nice.  Maybe they’d only talked for so long because she’d wanted to get away from that guy, but he’d enjoyed the conversation.  Catelyn had a warm smile, and she was obviously passionate about her work, and she seemed interested in what he had to say too.  And her hair…her hair was beautiful.  She’d seemed kind of distracted, though, and when she talked about the wedding she’d sounded a little off.  Which only furthered Ned’s conclusions that there was something weird here. 

What was done was done, though, and now Ned was ready to head home.  He’d said goodbye and congratulations again to Jon and was making his way down the hall towards the coat check when he heard a voice. 

"You need to stop this," the voice said, and Ned recognized it as Catelyn’s.  In another moment he saw her; she was standing to the side of the hallway, next to the guy she’d been trying to avoid.  "We’ve been through this before, and this is not the place to go through it again."

"If you’d just listen—" the guy interjected.

"There’s nothing to listen to, Petyr," Catelyn said.  "I’ve told you before that I don’t feel that way about you, and I still don’t.  I really can’t do this right now—"

Clearly this wasn’t something he should be listening to.  Ned shook his head and continued down the hall. 

He collected his coat quickly enough, but it seemed that even in that short time things had changed.  When Ned headed back down the hall towards the exit, another voice had joined the conversation; it was loud and very definitely agitated.  “You always want to make everything about you!” the voice was saying, and when Ned got a few steps closer he saw that it was Lysa.  Petyr had gone somewhere, but the two sisters were facing each other, and Ned could feel the tension.  “Always, it’s always about you, I can’t even have one special day without you trying to ruin it…”

"Lysa, I’m not trying to ruin your day," Catelyn said.  "I really want this day to be everything you want."  She sounded upset as well, and Ned didn’t know what to do.  He could go back towards the coat check, but there wasn’t any exit there.  But if he kept walking, he’d disturb their conversation, which seemed tense enough without that.  He ended up frozen in place, although he was aware this was far from ideal.

"You do, you ruin everything," Lysa said.  "This is my wedding, and you’re just trying to get Petyr all to yourself…so you can steal my day too…"

"Lysa, that isn’t true," Catelyn said.  "I’d never want to steal your day.  Petyr was just flirting…you know how he can be…"  She put a hand on her sister’s shoulder.  "Why does this upset you so much?  It’s your wedding, like you said.  Let’s just forget about this stuff and be happy, all right?"

"You always do this too," Lysa said, jerking away from her.  "Act like I’m stupid for being upset when you know what you’re doing…you’ve always done this with Petyr and everything…and then you just act like you’re perfect and everyone believes you…leave me alone!"  Catelyn had tried to put a hand on her shoulder again.  "Leave me alone…you don’t know what it’s like…leave me alone!"  And she pulled away from Catelyn and darted off down the hall.

Before Ned could think of what to do, Catelyn turned around and saw him.  He wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d gotten upset with him, but she just let out a long, tired sigh.  “Could you…not tell anyone about this?”

"Of course," Ned said.  "Of course I won’t."  He looked at her.  "Are you okay?"

"I…"  She shook her head.  "Not really.  I feel like this is my fault.  At least partly.  I don’t know how much you heard…I feel so dumb for not realizing…I knew there was something going on but I didn’t think…that guy Petyr, like I said, he’s into me…and I think Lysa must be…God, no, I’m not even going to say it."  She was biting at her lip.  "I tried to talk to her before…I just wasn’t sure she really wanted to, you know?  And she just blew up at me and I didn’t try again.  But oh god, I should have, shouldn’t I?  Jon’s a good guy and neither of them deserves this…I do want her to be happy…"  She shook her head again.  "I’m sorry to dump all this on you.  I know it must not be making any sense…and Jon’s your friend…I’m sorry."

"Don’t be," Ned said.  So there was something weird going on, just as he’d thought.  In the one situation where you really wanted to be proved wrong, Ned had been right.  And it seemed like Catelyn had had misgivings too, and he wondered why the two people most concerned—Jon and Lysa—had gone ahead with this, while two people on the outside had worried and wondered.  "It isn’t your fault," he said.  "People make decisions for all kinds of reasons.  I…I thought things seemed a little…"  He shut his mouth.  He wasn’t in the same position as Catelyn.  Even if he’d thought it seemed strange, he wasn’t as close to the whole thing as she was, wrapped up in this heartbreak.  She wouldn’t want to hear his opinion.

"You too, huh?" she asked.  "Do you think Jon realizes that Lysa’s not…?"

"I don’t know," Ned said.  "I don’t think so."

"I don’t think so either," Catelyn said.  "And I don’t know if that’s better or worse."  She let out a long breath.  "Ugh.  Shit.  This is just so…shit.  I care about her so much, but I can’t just fix it easily and…shit."  She sounded like she might cry, and Ned began to reach out to hug her before he realized what he was doing.  He barely knew her.

Catelyn moved into the hug, though, saying, “Thanks.”  She rested in his arms for a second before pulling away.  “I really do feel bad for putting all this on you.  But do you mind…I don’t think I’m quite ready to go back in yet…would you wait with me for a minute or two?”

Ned nodded.  “Of course,” he said, and it felt surprisingly natural.


	13. The Right Door After All (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Ned goes to visit Lyanna at college, he meets and connects with her hallmate Catelyn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--knocking on the wrong door."

Ned was sure that Lyanna had said room 802.  But the girl who had just opened the door to his knock was definitely not Lyanna.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I…um, I’m looking for my sister," Ned said.  "Lyanna Stark.  Are you her roommate or do I have the wrong…?"

"Lyanna’s down the hall," she said.  "805.  I’m not sure she’s here, though.  A bunch of people went out to celebrate the end of midterms." 

"Oh…thanks," Ned said.  "I guess I’ll just check…Sorry to bother you."

"No problem," she said, smiling and closing the door.

There was no answer when Ned knocked on the door to room 805, which left him unsure what to do next.  He was frankly a bit annoyed with Lyanna by now.  She’d been the one to suggest that he come down to visit for the weekend, and now she wasn’t even answering her phone.  He’d spent nearly an hour sitting in the lobby of the dorm and had only gotten in because some random guy had taken pity on him and offered to sign him in.  And now Lyanna wasn’t here.  He wasn’t really worried about her—she could be a less than reliable communicator—but he wished that she would check her phone.  He texted her— _Hey, I’m at your dorm.  Where are you?_ —and sat down outside her door to wait.

He’d been there for about twenty minutes when the door to 802 opened and the girl he’d been talking to before stepped out.  “Hey,” she said, glancing his way.  “She’s not here?”

"Nope," Ned said.

"You just going to wait for her?" she asked.

Ned shrugged.  “I have to.  I’m staying with her for the weekend.”

"Oh, I see," she said.  "Seems kind of dull, just sitting here."

"I’m okay," Ned said.  "Thank you, though."

"If you’re sure," she said.  She started down the hallway, then stopped and turned.  "Um…you could come with me if you like.  I’m going to get ice cream, take a study break.  If you want to…"

It would make sense to stay and wait, Ned knew.  On the other hand, if he knew Lyanna, she might not be back for hours.  And he was hungry, and this girl had a nice smile.  “Um…sure,” he said.  “Thanks.  That sounds good.  Let me just text Lyanna, let her know where I am if she ever checks her phone.”  And after sending Lyanna another text— _I’m going to grab some food.  Text me if you get back before I do—_ he headed down the hallway with the girl.

Her name was Catelyn Tully, she told him; she was a freshman, from South Carolina.  She wasn’t sure what she wanted to major in yet, but she thought maybe political science.  She had made the mistake, she said ruefully, of signing up for a French class that met on Fridays, so now she was the only one on the hall not done with her midterms.  “But I’ll be done tomorrow, anyway,” she said.  “How about you, Ned?  Where do you go to school?”

He’d stayed close to home, he told her, up in Boston.  “I’m pretty unadventurous, I guess,” he said.

"It’s not a bad thing, to stay near home," she said.  "I wasn’t sure I wanted to come this far away…I do like it here, but I miss my dad and my sister and brother."

Catelyn led him to a little diner, and they talked over their dishes of ice cream, mint chocolate chip for her and chocolate for him.  She declared a moratorium on anything school-related—“Not before midterms are over!  This is my study break!”—but the conversation flowed easily enough on other topics.  She told him about her brother and sister, mentioning that she couldn’t wait to see them at Thanksgiving, and that turned into a conversation about family gatherings in general.  And then Ned was telling her about the time that his family had gone skiing and Brandon had somehow managed to bury himself in a snowbank, and she was laughing so hard that people were starting to stare at them.  And then she was telling him some equally crazy story about her family going to the lake, and he was laughing just as hard.

"Oh my god, that’s amazing," he said, looking up at her.  She had a little smudge of ice cream on her mouth.  "You have a…ice cream…on your lips."

"Oh," she said, licking it away.  "Thanks."  He wasn’t sure who started first, but all of a sudden she was blushing, and he could tell that he was too.  They stared at each other for another moment, and it felt as though—

Ned’s phone started to ring.  Muttering “Sorry,” he took it out of his pocket.  Lyanna.  Finally.  “Hello?”

"Ned, where have you been?" his sister’s voice asked.  "I texted you.  It’s like ten-thirty!"

Ten-thirty already?  “Sorry,” Ned said.  “I didn’t hear the texts.  We’ll come back now.”

"We’ll?  Are you with someone?"

"Yeah.  Catelyn.  From your hall.  See you in a few—meet me in the lobby, okay?"

They paid for the ice cream and started back towards campus.  “Thanks for asking me, Catelyn,” Ned said.  “This was fun.”

"Of course," Catelyn said.  "I wouldn’t want to leave you sitting in the hall.  I didn’t mean to keep you so late, though."

"It wasn’t a problem," Ned said.  "Will you still have enough time to finish studying?"

Catelyn nodded.  “That’ll be fine.  There’s not that much more to do.”  She was quiet for a moment as they approached the dorm.  “Ned?”  And when he turned to look at her, she kissed him quickly on the mouth.  He could taste the mint.

Ned never knew what to say at times like these.  He wanted to tell Catelyn that he’d liked it, of course, but he needed the right words to say it, or he’d mess everything up.  As he tried to figure out just what those words might be, though, Catelyn spoke again, and she sounded just about as nervous as he felt.  “I…um…I wanted to do that,” Catelyn said.  “I…hope it was okay?”

"I…I’m glad you did," Ned said, and he smiled at her.  She smiled back, and he decided that her smile was more than nice: it was beautiful.  "Can I kiss you again?" he asked.

"Please," she said, and this kiss was a little bit longer and every bit as sweet.

"I don’t want to take away from your weekend with your sister," she said afterwards, "but if you have any extra time, we could hang out."

"Let’s do that," Ned said.  "Definitely."

"Just knock on my door if you’re free," she said.  "802."

"I’ll make sure to get the right room this time," he said, and she laughed and kissed him again before they went inside.

It was a great weekend visit.  Ned hadn’t seen Lyanna since before she went to college, and it was great to catch up with his sister; she showed him all around campus, and he was glad to see how happy she was, how much she seemed to love it there.  And he got to see Catelyn again too; her French midterm had gone well, she told him, and she came to dinner with him and Lyanna on Saturday night.  The two of them kissed outside the restaurant, and Lyanna shouted at them to get a room.

Ned left on Sunday afternoon.  He and Catelyn exchanged phone numbers and Facebooks and agreed that they’d see each other again the next time he came to visit (which he was now hoping to do pretty soon).  He said goodbye to Lyanna, and she told him to have a safe trip back.  “Call me when you get there,” she said, in a voice that was probably meant to be their father’s; he was forever after them to check in with him.

"You never answer your phone," Ned pointed out.  "You blew me off for three hours on Thursday."

Lyanna rolled her eyes.  “Oh, like it was so terrible for you,” she said, and Ned had to admit that she had a point.


	14. Honor Among Thieves (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned Stark is a jewel thief with a thing for his partner--who happens to be his brother's widow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--partners in crime."

"It’s different with you," Catelyn said.

Ned frowned.  “What do you mean?”

"Oh, nothing bad," Catelyn said quickly.  "It’s just that I always used to be the one to think things through, do the practical part, get the job done.  And now you do that, and I’m the one who turns on the charm."  She flashed him a smile, fully illustrating just how she did that.  "I’m not complaining, though.  We make a good team, Ned."

Ned nodded vaguely.  She was right.  They did make a good team, him and Cat.

She was Cat to him now, at her own insistence.  “We’re together practically every minute,” she’d said.  “I think you’ve earned the right to call me that.”  Then she had grinned at him, and he’d smiled back, feeling nervous and excited.  There were these moments between them—more and more often these days—but Ned had no idea what to do about them.  He ought to be brave enough to say something to her, he thought, tell her how he felt, but somehow doing that seemed a much more daunting task than evading guard dogs and scaling walls in the night.  And he sometimes wondered if he was just imagining things.  She had been Brandon’s wife, after all.

When Brandon had announced that he was engaged, nearly five years ago now, their father had been considerably disturbed.  Bringing a new person into the Stark family meant one of two things: building an elaborate lie or telling a dangerous truth.  As far as the world knew, the Stark fortune came from diamonds, and that was true enough.  What the world did not know was that it came from stealing them.

The six of them were all in on it, were all a part of the heists, but it had never gone beyond them.  Brandon’s engagement had changed that, though.  He had insisted that they could trust Catelyn, and he proved to be right.  Not only was she willing to keep their secret, she wanted to be a part of the heists too.

Brandon and Catelyn had worked as a pair.  He’d provided the diversions, charming and distracting their marks while Catelyn got her hands on the goods.  They’d been incredibly successful together, right up until the day when Brandon had fallen while climbing out of a twentieth-story window.  He’d died on impact. 

They had all grieved together, and their father had told Catelyn that it was up to her whether she wanted to continue working or not.  “Whatever you decide, you’ll always be a part of the family,” he’d said.  “We’ll look after you.  Never let it be said that there’s no honor among thieves.”  It was something that he often said, but it had seemed especially serious in that moment.

Catelyn had decided that she wanted to keep working, though, and that was how she and Ned had become a team.  She was now the one to provide the diversions—a wise choice, Ned thought, as he suspected that a cardboard box would have been more charming and distracting than he was—while he broke into the safes.  And they were successful together too.

At first, Ned hadn’t thought of her as anything but Brandon’s widow.  He’d known just how deeply she was grieving and had sought to be there for her as best he could; he had never thought of anything more.  Now that they had been working together for two years, though, he couldn’t help wishing for more.  He supposed it was natural.  He knew Catelyn as well as he knew anyone; he spent most of his time with her, and they’d saved each others’ necks countless times.  He knew that he wanted her, and he thought that she might want him.  So why couldn’t he speak up?

Well, he had no experience with this sort of thing.  He’d never known how to balance his way of life with dating; he wasn’t interested in casual flings, and he couldn’t fathom keeping that big a secret from someone he was seeing seriously.  Brandon had never had Ned’s problem.  He’d blithely dated one woman after another, rarely for more than a few weeks, and then when he’d finally found someone serious, he’d managed to make her a part of the family.  Ned couldn’t fathom how he’d done it, but then Brandon had never been able to make him out either.

"You don’t…?" Brandon had said incredulously.  "What, are you a monk or something?"  Ned hadn’t wanted to dignify that with a response.  "You don’t even go for a post-heist fuck?"

"What is a post-heist fuck?"

"It’s when you’ve pulled off a heist, and you’re on that high, and you find someone and fuck them.  Obviously," Brandon said.  "God, I feel for you.  You lead such a dull life."

That was a strange remark to make to someone who stole diamonds for a living, Ned had always thought.  Of course he knew the high that you got from a successful heist, but that didn’t make him want to have sex with someone he barely knew.  When he eventually did have sex, he wanted it to be with someone he knew well, someone he cared about, someone like Cat.  But he didn’t know how to tell her about his feelings, and he didn’t want to damage their partnership if she really didn’t feel the same.  That could be deadly.

……………….

Ned didn’t think he’d ever run so fast in his life.  Cat was keeping pace with him step for step…if they just made it to the next corner, they’d be able to blend into the crowd…they’d make it back safe with no evidence left behind…just a little bit further…

And then there they were.  They slowed their pace as one, pretending to be window shopping, but Ned could still feel the adrenaline coursing through every part of him.  “Let’s get back,” Cat said from beside him, her voice breathless, and he nodded.

They kept a little apartment near here to use as a base, and they made their way there, forcing themselves to walk slowly and calmly.  “You still have them?” Cat asked as soon as they got inside.  He nodded, setting his bag down on the table; the necklace was safe inside.  “Good.”

And then suddenly things weren’t slow and calm.  Cat had grabbed him and was kissing him; her mouth was frantic against his.  “God, Ned,” she gasped in between kisses, “I can’t wait any more.  I wasn’t going to say anything because I wasn’t sure how you felt…but I want you.”

"You do?’" Ned said.  "I mean, I wasn’t sure…I mean, that’s amazing…"  And she dove in for another kiss, and then she started kissing down his neck, and maybe this was what Brandon had meant about wanting sex after pulling off a heist, and maybe this was not the time to think about Brandon.  "I want you too, Cat."

"Good," Cat breathed, and they kissed again and again, and she was pressed against him, and it felt incredible.  When she whispered "Will you come to bed with me?" that felt incredible too.  But it also made Ned feel nervous.  She was experienced, and he wasn’t, and he didn’t want her to wind up disappointed.

"I…yes," he said.  "But Cat…I just want you to know…I’m not…I mean, I haven’t…"

"You haven’t done this before?" she asked, and when he shook his head, she kissed him on the cheek.  "That’s okay," she said.  "I’ll teach you.  It’s easier than cracking a safe."

Cat led him to the bedroom and proceeded to teach.  She was a good teacher, Ned decided: very patient, very good at demonstrations.  She guided his hands, showing him how she liked to be touched, and when they moved together, when her cheeks flushed and she moaned his name, he knew a pleasure more exquisite than that gained from pulling off a diamond heist. 

"I told you we made a good team," Cat murmured afterwards.

"The best," he said. 


	15. Come Up To My Place (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catelyn and Ned are just platonic roommates...right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--roommates."

Catelyn liked living with Ned.  Some of her friends said that they didn’t see how she could stand living with a guy when they weren’t even dating, that she was getting all of the disadvantages and none of the benefits.  She didn’t see it that way, though.  Ned had been by far the best person who’d answered her Craigslist ad, and he was great to live with.  He always paid his half of the rent on time.  He was even neater than she was.  And he was courteous.  Unbelievably courteous.

At first she’d thought that he didn’t really like her, but after a month or so she’d figured out that that wasn’t it.  He was shy, that was all.  And he was maybe a little nervous about living with a woman.  He always made sure to announce himself before coming into a room, as if she might suddenly have decided to start sitting around topless, and he never banged on the door when she was in the shower, unlike her last roommate, who’d done that all the time, and he never even walked around in his pajamas, which she thought was going a little far.

Catelyn wouldn’t have said that they were best friends or anything, but they got along well.  Once she’d figured out that he didn’t dislike her, she’d made an effort to draw him out of his shell.  She’d made dinner for both of them a few nights and sat and talked with him while they ate, and he’d eventually done the same; he was a good cook.  When she invited some friends over for board games, she insisted that he stick around; he turned out to be quite good at Apples to Apples.  Her friends who didn’t think that living with a guy sounded like cruel and unusual punishment were forever asking her if she was into him, but she wasn’t.  She liked him as a friend, that was all.

That was all until she got home unexpectedly early one evening.  As she stepped into the apartment, the bathroom door opened, and Ned appeared.  He’d clearly just gotten out of the shower—his hair was wet, and he had a towel wrapped around his waist—and when he saw her, he turned bright red. 

"I…sorry," he managed to say, darting into his room. 

"It’s fine!" she called after him, trying not to giggle.  "Don’t be sorry."

Catelyn didn’t think much about it at the time; her only real thought was that he was being a little ridiculous about this whole “respecting her delicate sensibilities” thing.  She’d seen shirtless men before, after all.  She’d never seen Ned shirtless, though, and when she thought about it again later that night, her mind dwelt more on the sight.  He had a nice body, she thought.  He was muscular, but he didn’t look like one of those guys who were obsessed with working out, and he had a good amount of hair but not too much, and she liked how the hair led down to the edge of the towel, and why the hell was she thinking about her totally platonic roommate like this?

She couldn’t stop thinking like that either, and by the end of the week she decided that it was the most awkward crush she’d ever had.  Because he was living with her!  He was always there, in her apartment, and if she said something it might get uncomfortable, and if she didn’t say anything she’d probably wind up acting weird, and either way if things got too weird one of them might have to move out, and she’d feel bad if it were him, but she didn’t want to move either because it was so hard to find a good apartment and a good roommate.  A good roommate who made her pasta with pesto sauce.  A good roommate who left her a good luck note when she had a big presentation at work.  A good roommate who was really really hot and who had nice big hands that would probably feel amazing on her breasts… _Stop, Catelyn_ , she told herself.  _Just stop._

One of her friends offered to set her up on a blind date, and Catelyn jumped at the chance.  Maybe this guy would be great, and she’d stop thinking about Ned that way.  He turned out to be totally blah, though, and the conversation fizzled quickly.  Catelyn made her way home, no further along with her problem.

Ned was sitting on the couch when she got back, watching something on his laptop.  “Hi, Cat,” he said.  “How was your evening?”

"Eh, it was okay," she said.  "You?"

"It was fine," he said.  "I didn’t do much."

"You watching television?" she asked.

 ”Yeah,” he said.  “You want to watch with me?”

Sitting right next to Ned on the couch…that sounded really good right now, which probably meant that it was the last thing that Catelyn should do.  But she couldn’t act weird.  “Sure.”

She sat beside him as they watched.  It was a pretty mindless sitcom, which was good because she couldn’t really concentrate.  And when something happened that did catch her attention, it wasn’t on the screen.  It was Ned’s hand, touching hers. 

Catelyn started, and Ned pulled his hand away.  “Sorry!” he said, and he looked nearly panicked.  “I wasn’t thinking.  I…God, I’m sorry.”

"Don’t be sorry," Catelyn said.  "It didn’t bother me, Ned."  She studied his face.  He was blushing, and he looked terribly uncomfortable, and she couldn’t help hoping that it meant…  "If you want to hold hands, just tell me and I’ll be happy to do it."

She couldn’t believe she’d said it aloud.  Now everything would be weird, and she’d probably have to move out.  But Ned was staring back at her, still not talking, and now that she’d said one thing she somehow couldn’t stop.  “Or if you want to kiss me.  What about that?”

And somehow, Ned nodded.  So Catelyn leaned in to kiss him, and his arms went around her, and when their lips met Catelyn decided that he was absolutely one hundred percent the best roommate she’d ever had.

They kissed through a whole episode, and then they lay snuggled up on the couch, happy and breathless.  “You want to come back to my place?” Catelyn asked him jokingly, and he grinned and nuzzled into her hair.

As things turned out, they both wound up moving out a few months later.  Their lease was up in August, and they decided to look for a one-bedroom instead.


	16. Loneliness (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catelyn knows that she's made the right choice by going home to be with her dying father, but she's still so lonely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--long-distance relationship." This fic deals with grieving for a dying parent.

Catelyn was so lonely. 

She knew that she was doing the right thing.  The doctors agreed that her dad didn’t have much longer, and if her being here with him could make those last months even a little bit better, it was the only choice she could make.  She didn’t want him to have to go to a nursing home, not when he so loved looking out of his bedroom window at the river, not when that was one of the only things that brought him joy now.  And she didn’t want him to be lonely, at home with only a nurse for company, so she had to be here too.  Edmure had college, and Lysa never returned her calls about this.  It had to be her.

Her dad was glad that she was there, she knew.  He was very weak now, but he still smiled when she came into the room, still called her “Little Cat.”  He liked it when she talked about the past, about things that they’d done when she and her siblings were children, when her mother was still alive.  She was grateful that they got to have this time together, and she wished that they could have more.

She was still lonely, though.

She missed Ned, and nothing could change that.  They Skyped or talked on the phone nearly every day, but it was nothing like being together in person, like being able to laugh together without anything to worry about, like making love and then falling asleep beside each other.  She felt so drained all the time now that it was hard to feel relaxed when they were talking to each other, to let everything else go away and concentrate on them.  And she wondered, sometimes, if he was still angry at her.

They’d had a fight about her plans to come home.  Not about her going—Catelyn had told Ned that she needed to do this, and he’d fully supported her.  But he had wanted to come with her, and she hadn’t wanted that.  This was going to cause enough upheaval in her own life—she’d had to take an indefinite leave of absence from her job—and she didn’t want Ned to have to go through that too.  She’d told him that, and he’d said that he wanted to be there for her.  She’d said that he could be there for her fine from where he was and she didn’t want him to have to give up his new job.  He’d said that being a couple meant helping each other, and she’d said that it wasn’t like they were married, and he’d asked why not being married meant that he wasn’t allowed to care about her, and it had all felt worse because they’d actually been starting to think about getting married when she’d gotten the news about her father, and they’d both wound up shouting at each other even though all they were trying to say was how much they cared, and she’d already been sad and now she was a million times sadder.

They’d made up, of course.  Catelyn had carried the day, and now here she was back home, and Ned was alone in their apartment.  He said that his new job was going well, although he didn’t talk about it much.  She thought that she’d made the right choice, but she wondered if he did, if he still thought she’d been too stubborn.  If that was how he felt, he didn’t say anything.  But then their conversations seemed almost insubstantial now; they never talked about anything much.  He always told her that he missed her a lot, and she told him that she missed him too. 

She was sleeping in her childhood bedroom now, and it felt beyond strange.  She’d spent almost every night of her life there up until she was eighteen, but now it didn’t feel like her place.  She belonged in the bedroom she shared with Ned.  Or if she had to be in this bedroom, she shouldn’t be alone.  She remembered her mother’s illness, back when she was a girl; she’d worried and grieved and lain awake just as she was doing now, but Lysa had been there too, and when one of them cried the other had always been there.  Now there was no one else here, and while she often thought of Ned as she was trying to fall asleep, that was not the same at all.

…………………………………………………

She went to visit Ned when Edmure came home from school for a long weekend.  She felt a little guilty about it—she never got to spend time with her brother—but she needed to see Ned.

"He’s pretty much the same," she told Ned when he asked after her dad.  "We really just have to take it day by day."  And when he asked how she was holding up, she said, "I’m doing okay."

She wasn’t giving him much, she knew, but it consumed her life enough; she didn’t want to talk about it more.  What she wanted to do while she was with Ned was have sex and sleep, and he seemed happy to oblige her.  Aside from meals, they spent pretty much the entire weekend in bed, and she slept better when she was able to cuddle up against him.

She clung to him when they said goodbye at the airport.  “I love you,” she said.  “I’ll miss you.”  Those words couldn’t cover half of it, and she didn’t want to leave him.

…………………………………………………

All these months, whatever pain he’d been in, her dad had still been fully there, mentally.  Catelyn had sometimes wondered if that made it harder for him.

Maybe she was selfish.  Because even if being fully there did make it harder for him, she wanted him fully there.  Because seeing him confused made her sadder than she could bear.

At first he just seemed vaguely disoriented, and that was hard enough.  She talked to the doctors, and they said that it was normal with his condition and with the medication he was on.  They said that they couldn’t do anything about it. 

And it didn’t get any better.  When she came into the room, he didn’t always call her “Little Cat.”  Sometimes he just looked at her with a confused expression.  Sometimes he called her Lysa.  When she talked about the past, he didn’t follow the stories anymore.  One day he asked her where her mother was.

That night, when Ned’s face appeared on her computer screen and asked her how she was, she burst into tears. 

She could tell that he was worried, but she couldn’t stop crying.  She tried to explain why, but half of the words got swallowed up.  She heard him telling her that he loved her, that she was so brave, that he wished he could be there to hold her.  She wished it too—more than anything—but she wouldn’t say that.  She didn’t want him to feel guilty for not being here.  It had been her choice. 

So she just cried and cried in front of her computer while Ned said soothing things.  And she still ached.

…………………………………………………

Catelyn almost didn’t answer the door the next evening.  She was tired and wrung out and she just wanted to sit on the couch and not get up.

But whoever it was knocked again, and she thought it might be important.  So she got up and opened the door.

"Hi, love."  Ned was standing on the doorstep of her dad’s house.

She couldn’t hug him fast enough.  He hugged her back, pressing her tightly against him, and she started to cry again.  “How…what are you doing here…?”

"I flew down," Ned said.  "I was already thinking about it, after you visited me.  And last night you were so sad.  I wanted to be here for you."  He stroked her hair.  "I talked to my boss.  I can get some time off to be here with you.  If you’d like that."

She nodded into his neck.  “I would.”

He was still hugging her, and she was so glad.  “I just want to help you,” he said.  “I know I can’t make everything better.”

"You can’t," she said.  "But still, Ned…thank you."


	17. Love Poetry (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catelyn loves Ned's poems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--writer and editor."

Catelyn loved Ned’s poems.  Sometimes she felt like the same things came across her desk over and over, but Ned’s were always different.  He liked to work with strict forms, and he used them so well; he looked at moral questions, and he always made you think.  He wasn’t her best-selling author—not by a long shot—but he was one of her favorites.

He’d asked her once, jokingly, how he could become more successful.  “Write love poems,” she’d said, laughing.  “No, seriously, Ned, don’t change a thing.  Your poems are wonderful as they are.”  He’d blushed and thanked her. 

He was so modest and quiet too.  That had surprised Catelyn when they’d first met.  There were plenty of writers with a lot less talent and a lot bigger egos; you needed some ego, she thought, to get anywhere in this line of work.  Ned’s main problem, she thought, was that he didn’t promote himself enough.  The poems were wonderful; the persona needed work.

Only the public persona, though.  When it was just the two of them, talking about his poems, she liked his persona just fine.

He’d told her he was sending her some new poems, and so she’d stayed at her office into the evening, waiting for them to arrive.  Some people had left early, as it was Valentine’s Day, but as she had no one special to celebrate with this year, that didn’t really affect Catelyn. 

"These came for you."  The guy from the front desk stuck his head in the door, holding out a manila envelope.

"Thanks."  Catelyn smiled and took it from him.  She pulled out the first poem and began to read.

In some ways, it was like Ned’s other poems.  It was formally structured—a perfect sonnet—and it was every bit as heartfelt.  But the subject matter—that was different.  This one was a love poem.  And it was about her.

Catelyn gasped when she realized it, and perhaps she didn’t give the rest of the poem the careful attention it deserved.  A note at the bottom of the page caught her eye, and she turned to it eagerly.  _You told me once that I should write love poems, so I thought I would try my hand at it.  I’m not very good at saying these things in any other way.  If you don’t like it, I understand, but I hope that you do._

If she didn’t like it?  Of course she liked it.  She loved it.  She was a little biased, probably, but she thought it was his best poem yet.

Catelyn grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and dialed his number.  He answered after two rings.  “Hello?”

"Hi," she said.  "It’s Catelyn.  I got your poem.  I loved it, Ned."

"Really?" he asked.

"Of course," she said.  "Will you come meet me at the office?  I don’t think we’ll be able to get in anywhere for dinner tonight, but we could order take out or something.  And talk."

"That sounds wonderful," Ned said.  "I can’t wait to see you, Catelyn."  And those words were almost as beautiful as any poem.


	18. Message Someone Cute (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catelyn is sick of online dating, but she decides to give it just one more chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--meeting online."

Catelyn was sick of online dating.  One of her friends had talked her into signing up for OKCupid, but she regretted it now.  All she ever got were stupid messages.  They ranged from the obscene (which led her to promptly block the sender) to the inane (how was she supposed to respond to “hey”?) to the entirely bizarre (a recipe for lobster salad).  On the rare occasions that someone said something worth responding to, it usually fizzled out after a few messages.  She’d only gotten two dates out of the thing, and neither of them had been with a guy she’d want to see again.  One of them was nice enough but completely dull.  The other had seemed great until they’d started to talk about their families, and then the way he’d described his twin sister had given her a serious case of the yicks.

So she wasn’t going to waste her time on OKCupid anymore.  When she mentioned this to Lysa, though, her sister didn’t see things the way she did.  “You have to keep trying,” she said, which was pretty rich coming from someone who was convinced that someday, without warning, she’d meet The One.  “Let’s find someone cute for you to message.”

"Get off my computer," Catelyn said.

"How about this guy?"  Lysa dissolved into giggles.  Catelyn looked and saw that she’d pulled up someone whose profile picture was a shirtless selfie.

"Ugh.  No.  Cut it out."

"All right, then you find someone," Lysa said.  "Or I’ll message this guy as you and tell him you’re into weird things in bed."

"Stop it."  Catelyn grabbed the mouse away from her sister.  "You’re the worst."

"Come on, Cat," Lysa said.  "Message someone cute."

"If I do decide to use this site again," Catelyn said, clicking out of the window, "it won’t be because you hassled me into it."

Lysa texted her that night.  _Did you message someone cute yet?_   Catelyn chose not to respond.

She was checking her e-mail the next day when she got another text from Lysa.  _Today might be a good day to message someone cute._ Sighing in exasperation, she was about to send back a scathing response when she noticed that she’d gotten an e-mail from OKCupid.  Her top matches.  She doubted there was anything interesting there, but she clicked through anyway. 

Well.  One of them was cute.  She hated herself for doing it— _you are doing exactly what you said you wouldn’t do, Catelyn Tully_ —but she clicked through to QuietWolf’s profile.

He seemed strikingly unobnoxious.  He didn’t say any of the gross things that she saw as red flags.  His pictures were nice but not show-offy.  And he liked _Parks and Recreation_.

Fine, she would do it.  She sent him a quick message—hi, I’m Catelyn, I liked your profile, what’s your favorite episode of _Parks and Recreation_?—and then she texted Lysa.   _I just messaged a cute guy.  Happy?_

Lysa’s response came approximately ten seconds later.  _YEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!! <3 <3 :-)_  _:-)_ One of them was very enthusiastic about this, obviously, and it definitely wasn’t Catelyn.

But she was happy, just the same, to see QuietWolf’s response.  His name was Ned, and his favorite episode was “End of the World,” which she liked a lot too.  They sent a few messages back and forth about the show and their daily lives.

She’d heard that you were supposed to go on a date sooner rather than later, to avoid building up your expectations, and so she asked Ned if he wanted to meet up for coffee that Saturday.  He was game, and Catelyn found herself standing outside a coffee shop at two on Saturday afternoon.  She’d told Lysa about the plan, and Lysa had texted back with _Call me if he’s a serial killer or anything_ , which was not the most wonderful response Catelyn had ever received.  But she didn’t think that Ned was a serial killer, and that was why you met in a public place, anyway.

"Catelyn?"  She turned around, and there he was.  Cute.  Just like his pictures.

"Hi," she said, stepping forward and taking his hand.  "It’s nice to meet you, Ned."  And despite her previous experiences, she somehow had a good feeling about this date.


	19. Awkward Run-In (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bumping into Ned Stark forces Catelyn to confront her feelings for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--literally bumping into one another."

Catelyn really should have been looking where she was going.  But she hadn’t been, and now she had two problems.  First of all, her knee hurt.  And second of all, she was going to have to talk to Ned Stark.

She’d been avoiding Ned ever since she’d broken up with Brandon.  It was hard, because they lived in a pretty small town, but Catelyn had gotten very good at the logistics.  She knew just when to duck into a doorway. 

That wasn’t the only reason it was hard, though.  It was hard because there was a part of her that really didn’t want to avoid him.  That was the part of her that liked him as more than a friend.  She’d never told anyone, but that was one of the reasons she’d broken up with Brandon—she’d realized that she liked his brother better.  But she couldn’t act on it, because they were brothers.  Ned loved Brandon, she knew, and he wouldn’t want to date his brother’s ex, and so she wouldn’t even ask.  But her feelings made it hard to see him.  They also made it hard not to see him.

And they felt especially powerful when he smiled at her like he was doing now, even though she’d run full tilt into him.  “Catelyn!”  Oh god, oh god.  “I haven’t seen you in so long.  How have you been?”

"I’ve been good," she said.  "Just really busy with…work."

"Oh, I completely understand," he said.  "Do you have a minute or two now, by any chance?  To catch up?"

She didn’t want to say no.  “Sure.”

"Great!" he said, and he seemed so happy about it.  Oh, this was bad.  "Let’s get a coffee."

So they got a coffee.  “How’s everyone?” she asked.  It would be best to stick to small talk.  “Your parents and everyone?”

"They’re doing well, thanks," Ned said.  "Dad keeps saying he misses you.  He told Brandon he likes you better than—"  He shut his mouth abruptly.  "Never mind."

"Brandon’s seeing someone?" she asked.

"Um…yes," Ned said.  "I…I’m sorry I said anything."

He was always so considerate.  “Ned, I don’t mind,” she said.  “I’d be surprised if he wasn’t, honestly.  We did break up.”

"I know," Ned said.  "I just…I don’t know, I thought you might still be upset."

"I’m not," she said.  _Not about Brandon, anyway._   “It was mostly my decision, anyway.”

"Oh," Ned said.  "I didn’t know that."

"Yeah," she said.  "It’s okay.  I think it was for the best."  That was vague enough.  "And you’re doing well?  How’s work?"

"Yes, I’m well," Ned said.  "And things are good at work.  I’m pretty busy too."  He took a sip of his coffee.  "I miss seeing you, though," he said quietly.

"You do?" she said.  That sounded weird.  "I mean, yeah.  I miss you too.  I’ve just been so busy…"

"It’s okay," Ned said.  "Are you free next Sunday, though?  I was going to go to that movie night in the park—they’re showing _The African Queen_.  I know you’re into that kind of stuff.”

She was, and Brandon had never been interested.  But Ned had remembered, and that was what was so wonderful about Ned, and she absolutely should not go with him.  “Ned, that’s so nice of you,” she said.  “But I think…yes.  I am free.  Let’s go.”  God, she was such an idiot.

"Great," Ned said, and now he was smiling at her again, and she didn’t even feel that sorry.  "It should be really fun."

"Definitely," she said.  "Well, I’ve got to get going, Ned.  I’ll see you next Sunday."

"Sunday it is," Ned replied.  "Bye, Cat."

"Bye, Ned."

When she left the coffee shop, she shook her head at herself.  She had been trying to avoid him.  To avoid him!  And now she was going to go to a movie with him.  A love story.  Alone.  In the park.  At night. 

Why had she said yes to this?

He’d said that he missed seeing her.  And even though Catelyn told herself that it shouldn’t, that felt so good to know.


	20. Totally Real Dates (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catelyn and Ned fake a relationship to get Petyr to leave her alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--fake relationship."

It had really been a spur of the moment decision.  That Baelish jerk who was always bothering Cat had been bothering her again, and when he’d asked her what she was doing that Friday, she’d grabbed for Ned’s hand.  “I have a date,” she’d said.  “With Ned.”  Ned had tried to look like he knew about this date.  He must have been convincing enough, because Baelish had gone away sulking.  Good riddance to him.

"I’m sorry," Cat had said to him afterwards.  "He doesn’t listen to a straightforward no, and he doesn’t listen to excuses.  I just kind of flipped out."

"Don’t worry about it," Ned said.  "I’m glad I was able to be of help.  I don’t like that creep."

She shook her head.  “I don’t either, really.  But there’s so much history…it’s just…ugh.”  She sighed.  “Anyway.  We could get dinner on Friday night, if you want.  Since we have a date.”

"Sure," he said. 

Neither of them meant to keep up the pretense, but it seemed like Baelish was always around.  And while he shot Ned dirty looks whenever they passed each other on campus, he seemed to have some sort of grudging respect for Ned’s and Cat’s “dates.”  They didn’t stop him from bugging Cat, but when she told him that she and Ned had plans, he’d usually shut up.

At least for a time.  “He’s not into you like I’m into you,” Ned heard him telling Cat at a party one night.  “He barely even touches you.”

"Not in front of you, maybe," Catelyn said.  She turned to Ned as he came up to them.  "You touch me all the time when we’re alone, don’t you, Ned?"

"Um…yeah," Ned said.  He hoped that he wasn’t expected to elaborate.

"I hate to say it," Cat told him later, "but we should probably either fake break up or get a little more touchy.  Do you have a preference?"

Both options sounded intimidating.  “It’s up to you,” he said.

"It might be fun to fake break up," Cat said.  "We could stage a fight in the middle of campus or something.  But then Petyr would probably be coming around trying to comfort me or something.  So that’s no good.  I guess we should get more touchy.  Um…you could kiss me.  If you want."

"Okay," Ned said.  "If you want."

"We could…we could try it now," Cat said.  "Just to see what it’s like."

Their first kiss was light and tentative.  “That’s maybe too chaste?” Cat said. 

Their second kiss was firmer.  And on their third kiss, Cat opened her mouth, and then he opened his, and then her hands were pulling him closer, and his hands were in her hair, and he had lost track of the number of kisses.

"New plan," Cat said half a hour later, her voice slightly muffled as she pulled her shirt back on.  "We stop fake dating.  We start real dating.  What do you think?  Be honest."

"I love it," he said.


	21. Red Hair and An Animal Name (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned and Catelyn meet while they're both drunk at a party--will they ever find each other again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--meeting at a party while drunk."

"I like your face," she shouted at him over the music.  "It’s very you."

That seemed reasonable enough.  “Thanks,” Ned shouted back.  “I like your hair.  It’s pretty.”

"Thanks," she said.  "You can braid it if you like."

They found a spot on the couch, and he started to braid her hair.  “I’m Ned,” he said.

"I’m Cat," she said.  She was leaning back against him, which made it harder to braid her hair, but which was also sort of nice.  "Like the animal."

He laughed.  “Your hair is pretty,” he said.  Had he told her that already?

"Thank you."  She snuggled her head against his shoulder.  "I think I’m really drunk."

"Me too," he said.  It was all Robert’s fault.  Robert always wanted to get drunk.

"Then we’re really drunk together," she said.  "That’s nice.  You’re not supposed to drink alone, you know."  She looked at him very seriously.  "Ned, would you take care of me if I threw up?"

"Sure," he said.  "But don’t."

"I wasn’t going to!" Cat said.  She started giggling.  "Why would you even think that?  But it is really, really nice of you to say you would take care of me.  If I threw up.  But I’m not going to."

"I’m glad you’re not," he said.

"I’m glad I’m not too."

They both wound up half-asleep after a while, and Ned wasn’t sure when she left.  In the morning, he had a terrible headache, and Robert was perfectly fine, which was annoying, and insisted on talking in a loud voice, which was even more annoying.  “Man, you are so hungover,” Robert said.  “I’ve never seen you like this.  It’s hilarious.”

"It is not," Ned said.

"Well, you had fun, anyway," said Robert, "which is more than you usually do.  You did have fun, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Ned said.  "I met a girl.  With pretty hair.  And her name was…"  Damn, why couldn’t he remember? "…some animal."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Robert asked.

"She had red hair," Ned said.  "I braided it."

"That’s what you do when you’re drunk?  Braid girls’ hair?" Robert asked.  "Man, Ned, you are hopeless."

"Do you know who she is?" Ned asked.  "A pretty red-haired girl?  With an animal name?"

"I do not," Robert said.  "I don’t even know what the fuck an animal name is."  Then he slapped Ned on the back unnecessarily hard.  "But I’ll help you find out.  Then you can do more than just braid her hair."  His laugh was way too loud. 

Robert posted _Ned Stark is looking for a pretty red-haired girl with an animal name.  Help him out?_ as his Facebook status, but surprisingly enough, this failed to produce results.  “Maybe you dreamed her up,” Robert suggested. 

Ned didn’t think that was the case, but when the semester ended the following week, he had pretty much given up on the whole thing.  At the beginning of the spring semester, though, a pretty red-haired girl sat down next to him in his American History class.  “Hi,” she said.  “I think we met at a party last semester.  I’m Cat.”

 _Cat_.  That was it.  “I’m Ned,” he said.  “Sorry about that night.  I was pretty drunk.”

"Yeah, I was too," Cat said.  "No worries.  You did a pretty nice braid in my hair."  She smiled.  "So, how was your winter break?"  And as they started talking, Ned looked forward to having a conversation with her that he would actually remember in detail.


	22. First Time (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned visits a brothel for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "Ned/Cat--prostitute/client."

Ned knew that Robert often visited brothels, that many men in the Seven Kingdoms did.  But this was the first time that his friend had convinced him to come along, and Ned had no idea what he was supposed to do.  Well, he knew what he was supposed to do, of course—there was really only one thing that you could do, in a brothel—but it seemed very uncomfortable.  Robert had gone off with some girl the moment they arrived, so now he was completely on his own.

"Hello."  He turned to see a girl smiling at him.  She was pretty, with red hair and blue eyes.

Ned tried to smile back.  “Hello.”

"I’m Cat," she said.

"I’m Ned Stark," he said.  "I came with my friend."  He didn’t know why he’d said that.  Was he supposed to talk to her first?  It would feel strange not to.

"Oh, we all know your friend," Cat said.  "But you haven’t been here before, have you?"  He shook his head.  "Would you like to come back with me, then?"

"I…all right," he managed.

"Well, you don’t have to if you don’t like," Cat said. 

"No, I do," he said.  She was very pretty.  "I just…"

"You’re a bit shy," Cat said, and he nodded.  "That’s all right.  Come back with me.  We’ll get to know each other." 

"Will you…show me what…?"  It was embarrassing to ask.

"Is that what you’d like me to do?" Cat asked.  He nodded again.  "Then of course I will." 

She smiled and reached for his hand, and he let her take it.  He still felt a bit uncomfortable as they walked off together, but he somehow trusted Cat.


	23. What Is (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned and Catelyn did not have the easiest of beginnings, but it doesn't seem to matter much now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was written for the prompt "is."

  
No one could deny that they did not have the easiest of beginnings: a match that was never meant to be, a match made in the midst of war.  It was a match shadowed by loss—his brother, her bridegroom—and secrets—his bastard’s mother, the woman of whom he would never speak, the woman who once made Catelyn doubt that her own husband would ever come to love her.  
  
No, no one could deny all this.  But on a night like tonight, it is all very far from Catelyn’s mind.  All of the children are asleep—even Rickon sleeps the night through now—tired out from the celebrations.  It was Sansa’s ninth nameday today, and they had a special dinner to celebrate.  Anyone could tell from her smile how happy Sansa was, with a new gown and all the lemoncakes that she wished.  And Catelyn was happy too, although she could hardly believe that Sansa was nine years old already.  She remembered so well the days when she’d carried Sansa, her first babe after she truly knew Ned, the first babe she had made with a man she had begun to love.

She loves him still more now.  It is quiet in Winterfell, with nearly everyone asleep; she and Ned are close to sleep themselves.  She is warm and comfortable, lying in Ned’s arms.  They talk quietly, going over the events of the day, marveling that their daughter is nine, and she so loves the expression on Ned’s face when he talks of their children.  His hands are softly stroking her hair, and she feels her eyelids begin to close as she nestles against him.  They did not have the easiest of beginnings.  But all that seems very distant and unimportant compared to what they have now, compared to what is.


	24. Been a Long Day (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catelyn and Ned relax together at the end of a busy week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this fic was "falling asleep in front of the television."

It was Friday at last.  The week had gotten very busy, although that was nothing unusual—Catelyn couldn’t remember the last week when something unexpected hadn’t come up.  They knew how to handle a packed schedule by now, but she was nevertheless always glad when the weekend came around.  It was a chance to rest, to spend some time together.

There had been a lot going on today—she’d had to pick everyone up from school and she’d had to bring the girls home from Girl Scouts and then rush right back out to pick up Bran from a friend’s house, and Ned had had to stay a bit late at work—but now things were calm.  The younger kids were in bed, and the older ones were entertaining themselves quietly in their rooms, and Catelyn and Ned were settled on the couch, watching the news.

They usually commented on the news to each other, but tonight, when Catelyn asked Ned a question, she didn’t get an answer.  “Ned?” she asked, turning to look at him.  Well.  No wonder he hadn’t answered.  He was fast asleep.

Catelyn thought about waking him, but after a moment or two she decided against it.  It had been a long week, after all, and they had the whole weekend ahead to spend together.  So she just nestled closer against him, enjoying his warmth, and turned off the TV.


	25. You Must Choose What To Pursue (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned is reluctant to leave what is most important to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was written for an iTunes shuffle meme. The song was "Find Your Grail" from Spamalot.

Many men were ambitious.  Some sought money, some influence; many wished for the chance to rule or dreamed of great victories on the battlefield.  There were those who would do anything for power.

Ned was not such a man.  He had risen high in his life, but it had been through no desire of his own; it had been, quite honestly, a matter of chance.  He had never been meant to be the lord of Winterfell—that job had been meant for Brandon.  Now he had accepted Robert’s offer to serve as Hand of the King, and that, too, was only because someone he had cared for had died.

Accepting the offer had been his only choice under the circumstances, but tonight he could not help thinking that it was not the job for him.  Cat shifted beside him in the bed, sighing in her sleep, and he watched her, thinking how beautiful she was.  Cat had come to him through chance as well, but now it felt as though they were perfectly fashioned for each other; he could not imagine life with anyone else.  It was an honor to go to King’s Landing, to serve as Robert’s Hand, but tonight he could think only of how much he would miss her.

Ned did not treasure money or influence or power.  But he treasured his wife, and it felt as though leaving her would be wrong.


	26. You Can Sleep Wherever You Are (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned wakes up a woman who's fallen asleep on the subway--but that isn't the last he sees of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the iTunes shuffle meme. The song was "Subways Are For Sleeping" from the musical of the same name.

The woman across from him had fallen asleep as soon as she got on.  Ned was impressed.  He always had a terrible time sleeping in any kind of vehicle, and with the subway as noisy and crowded as it was, it was a feat indeed.

As they approached the end of the line, the car began to empty out, just as it always did.  Ned wondered if he should try to wake her.  She might miss her stop if she stayed asleep, but he didn’t want to frighten her.  In the end he decided against it.  He didn’t even know where she was getting off, after all.

When the subway pulled into the final station, though, he decided that he would have to try.  He tapped her shoulder gently, and she woke with a start.  “Sorry,” he said.  “I didn’t mean to startle you.  You were asleep.  We’re at the last stop.”

"Oh," she said.  "Oh.  Thanks.  Sorry.  I had a long day."

"It’s no problem," Ned said.  "Did you miss your stop?"

"Nope, this is where I get off," she said, rising from her seat.  "I’m still getting used to the commute, I guess.  I just moved here a week ago."

"It’s a pretty nice area," Ned said.  "Not that exciting, but it’s fine."

She nodded.  “Yeah, I like it so far.  Well, thanks again!”  She headed out of the station, and Ned soon lost sight of her.

When he walked into the lobby of his building, though, he saw her again, standing in front of the mailboxes.  Mail in her hands, she turned around, and Ned saw a brief look of surprise on her face before she smiled.  “Hi again!  Are we neighbors?”

"I guess so," Ned said.  "I live on the third floor."

"I’m on the fifth," she said.  "It’s nice to meet you.  I’m Catelyn Tully."  She held out a hand.

"Ned Stark," he said, shaking her hand quickly.  "If you…if you have questions about the building or anything…"

"I’ll find you.  Thanks," she said.  "And maybe I’ll see you on the subway.  You can wake me up if I fall asleep again."  Laughing and calling, "Nice to meet you, Ned!" she headed up the stairs.

Ned doubted that they would run into each other on the subway.  So many people took the subway every day, and unless they left the building at the exact same time they probably wouldn’t end up on the same train.  And even if that happened, what was the likelihood that she would fall asleep again and that he would have to wake her up?

Ned was right about one thing: they never actually ran into each other on the subway.  But sometimes they ran into each other in the lobby, and when they did they usually got to talking, and eventually they started meeting on purpose, in the mornings, to walk down to the station together.  And the next time he saw her fall asleep, it was on the bed in her apartment, and he was close to sleep himself, and she was the one to wake him up, in the morning, with a sweet kiss.


	27. Just Play It Cool (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned never knows how to act around girls he likes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the iTunes shuffle meme. The song was "Cool" from West Side Story.

Brandon always took these things calmly.  ”They’re just girls,” he’d say.  “What are you freaking out about?”  It worked out for him, certainly; he always had a date if he wanted one.

But for Ned it wasn’t that simple.  Whenever he was with a girl he liked, he inevitably did freak out.  In his case, freaking out always led to getting even quieter than usual, and to blushing, and to making some dumb excuse to get away as soon as possible.  He’d liked Ashara Dayne all through sophomore year, but he didn’t think she had ever realized.  Not that he blamed her.  He’d acted like way too much of a dork for that.

And now he liked Catelyn Tully, and it didn’t seem like that was going to turn out any better.  She was new and very pretty, with red hair and big blue eyes, and she sat next to him in history, and when she tried to make conversation he usually stammered and pretended he was looking for something in his bag, like an idiot.  He wasn’t the only guy who liked her, he knew; the fall dance was coming up, and he’d heard a few people talking about asking her.  Which was why he was currently feeling unreasonably grouchy.

"What’s bugging you?"  Lyanna had come into the kitchen and taken an apple out of the bowl their mom left on the counter; she looked at it, made a face, tossed it back into the bowl, and took a bag of cookies out of the pantry.

He didn’t want to talk about it, but he knew that if he didn’t, Lyanna would just keep wheedling him.  “You know Catelyn Tully?  The new girl?”

"The one with the Southern accent?  Yeah, her sister’s in my English class.  Why?"  And when he paused before answering, she looked at his face and let out a whoop.  "Oh, you like her.  You like her."

"Yeah," Ned said.  

"What’s the matter then?  Does she have a boyfriend already?  Or someone back in North Carolina?"

"South," Ned said.  "South Carolina.  And no, I don’t think so."

"Then ask her out already!  God, Ned.  You are so lucky you have me to solve all your problems for you."

"It’s easy for you to say that," Ned said.  "I can’t talk to girls I like, Lyanna.  You know that."

"Sure you can," Lyanna said.  "We’ll practice.  Ask me out."

"I don’t want to ask you out," Ned said.  "You’re my sister."

Lyanna rolled her eyes.  “No shit.  I don’t want you to actually ask me out.  Just pretend.  So you can learn how to be cool around girls you like.”

They practiced all afternoon.  At first Ned felt incredibly awkward—he had no experience doing this, and it was weird to ask his sister out, pretend or not—but by the end he felt only slightly awkward.  “You just have to be chill about it,” Lyanna said.  He nodded and said that he would try.

Catelyn smiled at him when he sat down next to her in history the next morning, and he tried to take courage from that.  “Hi, Ned,” she said.

"Hi, Catelyn," he said.  "I have a question."

"Sure," she said.  "What is it?"

"I…um…well, I was…um…wondering…"  _Be cool_ , Ned reminded himself, taking a deep breath.  “The fall dance is in two weeks.  Would you like to go with me?”  He was sure he was blushing.

But she blushed a little too.  “Sure,” she said.  “That sounds really nice.  Thanks for asking me, Ned.”  

"Thanks for saying yes," he said, which probably ruined the cool, but she grinned when he said it, so he didn’t feel bad at all.


	28. Two Heads Are Better Than One (Harry/Ginny)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny wants to send Harry a valentine, but first she has to ask her diary for advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the iTunes shuffle meme. The song was "Twisted" by Annie Ross and Wardell Gray (sung by Joni Mitchell).

Ginny wrote about Harry Potter all the time.  How much she liked him and how she wished she could tell him and what she would say to him if she did.  It was nice to be able to write about it.  If she told anyone else, they would laugh at her.  He was Harry Potter, after all, and she was just his friend’s little sister.  But Tom never laughed at her.  He always listened.  He told her she was cool.  He told her that if she were brave enough to say something, Harry would listen.  She wasn’t sure about that, though.  So she didn’t say anything.  She kept writing.

_Valentine’s Day is coming.  I wish I could send Harry a Valentine._

**Why don’t you?**

_What would I say?_

**You could tell him all the things you like about him that you’ve told me.  
I’m sure he would like it.**

_I was thinking about sending him a poem.  But I’m afraid it’s silly._

**I’m sure it’s not silly, Ginny.  Why don’t you let me read it?  I’ll tell you what I think.**

_Of course, Tom.  You’re such a good friend.  Here it is:_

_His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,_   
_His hair is dark as a blackboard._   
_I wish he was mine, he’s really divine,_   
_The hero who conquered the Dark Lord._

_What do you really think of it?  Please be honest with me._

**I think it’s wonderful, Ginny!  How could Harry not love it?  You should send it to him.**

_Really?_

**Of course.**

And reading the words on the page, Ginny believed them.  Her poem was wonderful.  Harry would love it.  She would send it to him.


	29. The Spirit of Night (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned loves spending the evenings with Catelyn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the iTunes shuffle meme. The song was "Entrance of Night" from Out of This World.

Ned was glad of the coming of summer, and it was not solely because of its effect on food supplies.  It was also because it had become warmer outside, and that suited Catelyn.  Since he had returned from the Greyjoy Rebellion, in particular, the weather in the evenings had been pleasant enough that the two of them sometimes walked outside then, after supper and before retiring.

And he loved to look at her in the evenings, as the light of the setting sun caught her hair.  He loved to walk beside her, feeling her arm through his, seeing her smiles, much more frequent now than he would once have dreamed.  Warm as it seemed to him, the air was sometimes still a bit cool for her; she would press closer to him then, and her cheeks would turn pink.

If it became too cold—if she shivered—or when it began to grow truly dark—when the stars appeared in the sky, shining like Catelyn’s eyes—he would always suggest that they go inside.  And when they reached her chambers, he would press her close and kiss her.  The coming of the summer evenings had brought them new pleasures, and the close of each evening brought its pleasures too.


	30. It Was the Most Beautiful (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catelyn wants to show Ned the old amusement park from her childhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the iTunes shuffle meme. The song was "Bilbao Song" from Happy End.

"It’s this way!” Catelyn called.  “Come on, Ned.”  Ned followed her along the boardwalk.  She could already hear the music.

She hadn’t been here in years.  They’d come every summer when she was a kid, but they’d stopped around her sophomore year in college, and eventually her dad had sold their place.  She’d never really gotten why; they’d always had such good times here.  So many of her childhood memories were from her summers here: Uncle Brynden teaching her and Lysa and Edmure to swim; the summer when Edmure had been determined to win the sandcastle contest; the afternoons she and Lysa had spent with Petyr, whose family rented the place next door.  And of course, the amusement park.  It had been the first place that she and Lysa had ever been allowed to go by themselves, walking down the boardwalk when it stayed light all evening, with their own money that they’d saved up.  It didn’t matter that there were just five rides and they were all pretty rickety.  They’d felt like the coolest, most grown-up people in the world.

And now she was back, finally.  It was nice being here with Ned—different from coming with her family, but nice.  He wasn’t really a beach person like she was, but he’d been a good sport about it.  And tonight she wanted to show him the amusement park.  She’d told him how much she loved it, and she hoped that he would like it too.  It wouldn’t look so special to someone who didn’t really know it, she knew.  But it was her favorite place.

But when they stopped at the end of the boardwalk, Catelyn wondered if she’d somehow taken a wrong turning.  No, of course she hadn’t.  The boardwalk didn’t have any turnings.  But this place…it wasn’t the amusement park she knew.  The rickety rides were gone, and in their place there were new rides.  Fancy ones.  Shiny ones.

These things happened, Catelyn knew.  Places got fixed up.  But somehow it didn’t seem fair.  The old amusement park had been her amusement park, special to this place, special to the memories that she’d made here.  This amusement park…well, she’d seen rides that looked just like these at other places.  She looked around, trying to make out something familiar, but she came up empty.

”Is this the place?” Ned asked her.

”Sort of,” Catelyn said.  “I…they kind of changed it.  It used to be better.”

“That’s too bad,” Ned said.  He surveyed the rides.  “It doesn’t look too run down or anything.”

“It’s not,” Catelyn said.  “I guess it didn’t used to be better.  It used to be a lot more rinky-dink, really.  But you know, it was what I was used to.  Probably if you weren’t used to it, you wouldn’t like it so much.  Am I making sense?”  She was half-surprised when Ned nodded and squeezed her hand.

Since they’d walked all the way, they decided to go in.  Ned bought them both cotton candy, and they rode on the new carousel.  But when Ned turned to her after half an hour and asked if she wanted to go, she said yes right away.  She knew that he understood what she was feeling by the way that he held her hand as they walked back along the boardwalk.  And that made her feel grateful, even though it hadn’t been the evening she’d imagined. 


	31. Things Are Different Nowadays (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Ned imprisoned in King's Landing, Catelyn cannot depend upon him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the iTunes shuffle meme. The song was "Color Me Gay" from The Musical of Musicals.

Catelyn could barely stand knowing that Ned was imprisoned.  She had to stand it, of course; there was no other choice.  She needed to keep it together for Robb—it depended on them now.

But that was what was frightening about it.  She was used to depending on Ned.  When she was troubled, he was always there to comfort her, to find a solution.  He was her husband, and her children’s father, and the lord of Winterfell, and although he respected her opinions, she naturally expected him to be the one to take charge.  

He couldn’t take charge now, though.  And although she knew it wasn’t his fault, not at all, she was almost angry about it sometimes.  _Why aren’t you here for me, Ned?_ she thought at night as she tried to fall asleep.  _I need you.  I need you to help me like you always have._

They would have to rescue him.  They would have to.


	32. If You Don't Watch Out (Lucius/Narcissa)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Narcissa is proud to be married to Lucius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the iTunes shuffle meme. The song was "Colored Spade" from Hair.

Not only did Narcissa love Lucius, she was proud to be married to him.  And it wasn’t just because of his position in society.  It was because he was working towards making a better world.

When he came back from his meetings, he would tell her what they’d talked of, and she always thrilled to hear it.  They would make a future without Mudbloods and Muggles, without that sort of filth and their subhuman ways.  It would be a better world for their son, she was sure of it—not that he would be spending any time with that sort in any case.  She couldn’t imagine what their lives were like, but she was sure they were nothing like hers; on the rare occasions when she thought of Andromeda, she imagined some tawdry little scene, and her feelings of disgust were mixed with pity for how far Andromeda had fallen.  Such indecent types, and what reason was them for there to take up space in this country?

Lucius shared her feelings, and he went further still: he was going to do something to change it, to stop it.  She was proud of that.


	33. Keep My Arm About You (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a busy day ahead, but Catelyn and Ned would rather stay in bed together than get up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the iTunes shuffle meme. The song was "A Bushel and a Peck" from Guys and Dolls.

The day ahead promised to be a busy one for both of them.  Several of Winterfell’s bannermen were arriving late in the day, and the last preparations needed to be completed.  They would be discussing trade agreements, and Ned needed to review plans for that; Catelyn herself needed to make sure everything was ready in terms of tonight’s feast and the rooms for the guests.  But right now…

"Don’t get up," Ned murmured, tightening his arm around her waist.

"We need to," Catelyn said, but even she recognized the lack of conviction in her voice.

"In a few moments," Ned said.  "You’re so lovely, Cat."  Then he kissed her, and Catelyn decided that they certainly did not need to get up right now, whatever the day ahead might hold.

She hadn’t bothered to put her shift back on last night, and Ned’s hands were already moving over her bare skin.  She shivered and murmured his name as he brought his lips to her neck, and she reached out to caress him in turn.  

They had been married for ten years now, and making love with him had become familiar, but it had never become unexciting.  She loved Ned’s touch, loved feeling his body against hers, loved the looks and words they shared in these moments, private and for them alone.

It was more than “a few moments” before they finally got out of bed that morning, and Catelyn knew that she didn’t have much time that day to get everything done.  But somehow she couldn’t bring herself to be particularly upset about it.


	34. Wounded (Parvati, Lavender)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the Battle of Hogwarts, Parvati goes to visit Lavender in the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this was "Before the Beginning" for a fic I'm working on.

There wasn’t much time to spare in the first few days after the battle. Their father wouldn’t stop hugging both of them close, and their mother wouldn’t stop saying, “You could have been killed. You could both have been killed.” 

But they hadn’t been killed. They hadn’t even been seriously hurt, but not everyone had been so lucky. And so, as soon as there was time to spare, Parvati conjured up the nicest bunch of flowers that she could—taking comfort in using magic just to create something pretty—and headed for Saint Mungo’s.

Lavender had pulled the blankets of her bed up to her chin, even though the room was warm, but Parvati could still see her face, its red, raw skin. She was staring up at the ceiling and didn’t turn her head when Parvati tapped at the door. “Hi,” Parvati said, not knowing quite what words would be best. “Hi, Lavender.” She advanced into the room. “I brought you flowers.”

Lavender looked at her then. “Hi. Thanks.”

“I came as soon as I could,” Parvati said, pulling up a chair and sitting next to the bed. “How are things? What are the healers saying?”

“I’ll have scars,” Lavender said in a flat voice. “But they say I’m lucky. I could have lost my eye. I could be a werewolf. And I’m lucky I’m not dead.” 

She didn’t sound like she was very sure that was lucky, and Parvati couldn’t think of a good response. “How are you feeling?” she finally managed.

It was stupid, she knew it even as she was saying it, and she knew it even more when she saw the tears in Lavender’s eyes. “Awful,” Lavender said, and then she was crying hard. Parvati reached out to hug her, gently, but she still didn’t know what to say.


	35. Signs of Love (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the help of the people of Winterfell, Ned tries to show Catelyn how he feels about her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the prompt "Ned/Cat - Ned is completely besotted with Cat and everyone knows it except for her. The household thinks it's really cute how tongue tied and shy he is so they try to help him catch Cat's attention. They just want their lord and lady to be happy :)".

It was so hard to know what to do.

It was easy enough to know how he felt. It had taken him a while to realize it, perhaps, or to admit it to himself, but he couldn’t deny it now. Not when he had those feelings whenever he saw Cat. Different feelings all mixed up together–feelings of warmth, of nervousness, of joy. Feelings of love. He loved Cat, he was certain of that. Knowing her as he did now, he didn’t know how it would be possible not to love her.

Ned didn’t know what to do about it, though. He didn’t know how Cat felt about him, and that was the problem. There was the way that she smiled at him when they were alone together, and sometimes he hoped… But he couldn’t be sure. If she didn’t love him, if she were still disappointed in him, it would do more harm than good to tell her of how he felt. He didn’t think that Cat guessed, and he was grateful for that, he supposed. But there were moments when he wished that she could somehow know, without his speaking of it, how much she was in his thoughts.

She was in his thoughts now, but he tried to put his mind on other things as he crossed the yard of Winterfell and walked towards the stables. Robb and Jon were learning to ride, and he liked to look in on their lessons periodically, to see what progress they were making and to spend some time with them. As he reached the stables, he saw Hullen, leading Cat’s favorite mare from her stall. “Good morning, my lord,” Hullen said. 

“Good morning, Hullen,” Ned replied. “I…is the Lady Catelyn coming to ride?” He had come to watch the boys, but perhaps he could spend a minute or two with Cat if she was here.

“Yes, my lord,” Hullen said. “She said that she wanted to get out a bit, as it’s warmer today.” 

Ned nodded. Cat hadn’t ridden much since Sansa’s birth, nearly six moons ago now, and he knew that it was something she liked, although she disliked the cold rather more. It wasn’t cold today, though; in fact, he found it a bit too warm for spring, which probably meant that it was just right for Cat. And he was glad of that–he wanted her to be happy here…

“Did you wish to join her, my lord?” Hullen asked. 

The question startled Ned. He hadn’t thought of the possibility, but he would like to, of course–he would like to quite a bit–but he didn’t know if she wanted his company. “Did…did she expect me to join her?” he asked.

“She did not say, my lord,” Hullen replied. “But I am sure she would like it, if you are not too busy. She did say that it was always pleasant to have someone to ride with.”

Well, if she had said that… “Yes, I will join her,” he said. Hullen nodded at that, and Ned thought he saw the man smile as he went to lead Ned’s own horse out as well.

Cat appeared at the door to the stables then. She was wearing a deep blue cloak which made her look particularly beautiful, and she smiled when she saw him, which made her look more beautiful still. “Good morning, Ned.”

“Good morning,” he said. “Hullen said that you were planning to go for a ride. I thought that I might join you. That is, if you would not mind.”

“Of course I wouldn’t,” Cat said. “I would very much like you to join me, Ned, if you have time.”

“Well, I certainly have time,” he said. She smiled again at that, and it made him smile in return. They mounted their horses then, setting off across the yard. 

They did not talk of anything much as they rode–they talked some of the children, and some of how the weather seemed more springlike each day, and they spent some moments merely riding quietly side by side. But just being in Cat’s company was enough for Ned, and from the way that she said, “Thank you for coming with me, Ned. It was a very pleasant morning,” he thought that she had enjoyed it too. It was at moments like this that he most hoped she felt as he did.

.............

It seemed that the children were restless tonight; Ned could hear loud noises coming from the nursery. He headed in the direction of the sounds, hoping to see if there was any problem that he might help solve.

Robb was running about, shouting what sounded like a mock battle cry, and Jon, who was usually much quieter, seemed caught up in the game as well. Sansa slept in her cradle, at least for the moment, but Ned didn’t imagine that would last for long if they continued making noise. “Now what is this, boys?” he asked. “It’s nearly time for bed. You will wake your sister.”

“We are knights!” Robb shouted. “It’s a battle, Father!”

“Perhaps you can continue your battle in the morning,” Ned said, but the boys paid no attention. Robb darted past him, running still faster than he had been, and collided with a table. He got to his feet quickly, laughing, and didn’t appear to be hurt, but the noise had woken Sansa, and she began to cry.

Ned sighed and went to pick her up. “It is time to be quiet now, boys,” he said. “You are being much too loud. There, there, sweetling. Shhh.” He was not best pleased with all of this. He knew that the boys were young and were still learning how to behave, but he had hoped to spend a quiet evening with Cat. They had had a rather busy week, and he’d wanted to spend some time with her; he found himself wanting her company more each day. But with things going the way they were, a quiet evening looked unlikely.

He heard steps approaching the nursery door; he half-expected Cat herself to appear, but it was Old Nan, along with one of Cat’s maids. “Good evening, Lord Eddard,” said Old Nan. “Boys, are you making trouble for your father?”

“We’re not making trouble,” Robb said. “Not on purpose, anyway. We were being knights.”

“Well, there’s a time and a place for being knights,” said Old Nan, “and a time and a place for being quiet.” She turned to Ned. “Shall I take the boys, my lord? I’ll tell them a story if they promise to sit quietly.” She grinned at Robb and Jon. “A story about knights, at that.”

“We’ll be quiet,” said Jon. “Won’t we, Robb?” Robb nodded, and Old Nan led them both to sit on Robb’s bed. 

“And I’ll take the babe if you wish, Lord Stark,” said the maid. “I’ve helped Lady Stark put her to bed before, and I’m sure she’ll drop off quickly.”

“Yes, Bethany can see to the babe well, Lord Eddard,” Old Nan said. “Let’s get things settled before Lady Stark hears. The gods know it’s been a long week, and we might as well let her have some peace.”

On another occasion, Ned might have protested; he liked spending time with his children, and he knew that Cat did as well. Tonight, though, he felt inclined to do as Old Nan said, and he handed Sansa to Bethany. “She’s nearly asleep in any case,” he said.

“Of course she is,” Bethany murmured, rocking the babe in her arms. “You are a sweet, sweet babe, aren’t you, Sansa?” Sansa, who had stopped crying by now, gave a little coo.

“We’ll manage the children, Lord Eddard,” Old Nan said. “You see to your business.” The only business he had to see to was finding Cat, of course, but he rather suspected from the grin on her face that Old Nan knew that.

He found Cat in her bedchamber. She was resting on her bed, but she rose as he came in. “Hello, Ned,” she said. “I thought I heard the children…?”

“They’re settled now,” Ned said. “Old Nan and Bethany are with them.”

Cat smiled. “All is well, then. I am glad to see you, my lord. We’ve barely had a moment alone in days, it seems.”

He nodded. “And I have missed you, Cat.”

Having Cat in his arms was always a pleasure, and tonight was no different; he loved to lie with her, to touch her, to please her. And he loved the moments afterwards too, when she laid her head on his chest and smiled and they talked more intimately than they did at any other time. Cat kissed him very tenderly tonight, and he stroked her hair once she was asleep and wondered how he might tell her what he felt.

.............

Ned was walking past the glass gardens when he saw a man approaching him; it was Will, one of the under-gardeners, and he was carrying some flowers in his hands. “Good morning, Will,” he said.

“Good morning, my lord,” said Will. “The first flowers are beginning to bloom.”

“So I see,” said Ned. “Where are you taking those?”

“Up to the castle, my lord,” said Will. “Lady Stark had asked us to.” The man paused then, and he seemed almost nervous when he spoke next. “Perhaps you would like to take them to her yourself, my lord?”

If Cat wanted flowers… “Yes, I will do that,” he said. “Thank you, Will.”

“Of course, my lord.” If Will had seemed nervous a moment ago, he certainly didn’t seem so now; he was smiling, in fact, as he handed the flowers to Ned.

It didn’t take long to find Cat; he had come to know her routines rather well by now, and he was not surprised to find her sitting at her small desk, looking at the household accounts. “Good morning, my…Cat,” he said. “I have brought you some of the first flowers.”

Cat took the bunch from his hands with a pleased look. “Oh, thank you!” she exclaimed. “These are so lovely, Ned. Shall we find somewhere to put them?”

She had a small vase that she’d brought with her from Riverrun; she didn’t call attention to it, but Ned knew that it was something she cherished. It sat on a table across the room, and he went to fetch it. “Suppose we put them in here?” he said.

“I think that would be lovely,” Cat said. She arranged the flowers in the vase, smiling as she did so, and Ned dared to hope that the smile wasn’t just because she thought the flowers looked nice. Her next words gave him still more hope. “It was so good of you to bring me flowers, Ned. I didn’t expect any such thing, and it was…well, thank you, Ned.” And she leaned in to kiss his cheek.

Ned felt very happy indeed, although he was also a bit confused. Surely Will had said that Cat had asked for the flowers, so what did she mean when she said that she hadn’t expected them? Perhaps he had misunderstood Will, though. “It was no trouble,” he said. “I would bring you anything if it would please you, Cat.”

“You always please me, Ned,” Cat said. “You do not need to bring me anything for that.” She blushed. “Excuse me if I say too much. It is just that I…well, sometimes I hope…when you bring me flowers and things like that…and I…well, I have been wanting to tell you…” She broke off then, fussing with the arrangement, and Ned could see that her hands weren’t entirely steady. She was still looking down at the flowers when she spoke again, and her voice was quiet, but Ned heard her words well enough. “I love you, Ned.”

He knew that he had heard the words, but he almost couldn’t believe that he had heard them correctly. “You…you love me?”

“I do,” Cat said, and her voice was louder this time. “You’ve been so good to me that I could hardly help it, Ned, and I was hoping that perhaps…” She blushed again. “Perhaps I did say too much.”

As far as Ned was concerned, she certainly had not said too much, and it seemed more important than anything in the world to let know that. “You didn’t,” he said. “I…Cat, I just…” He would just have to say it. “I love you too, Cat.”

Her smile was full and beautiful now, and her arms were around them, and he was very glad that he had brought her the flowers, whether she had expected them or not.


	36. I'll Need Every Prayer That You Can Spare To Get Me By (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before her wedding to Eddard Stark, Catelyn Tully can't help feeling nervous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was for an iTunes shuffle meme. The song was "Say a Prayer For Me Tonight" from Gigi.

Catelyn put down her hairbrush and looked in the glass. This morning her glance lingered longer than it usually did; she felt almost as though she were taking her last look at herself. That was silly, she knew. She would surely look at her reflection many more times in her life. But she couldn’t help feeling that she might be a different person the next time she did. This was her last morning as Catelyn Tully.

And when she thought of that, it made her nervous. She tried to calm her nerves, telling herself that marriage was not something to be feared. It was a natural part of life, something that happened to almost every woman. She could be a good wife, she knew that she could; she had prepared for this day, and she knew about running a household. And Eddard Stark…he seemed a good man. 

Of course, she barely knew him, and thinking on that made her nervous all over again. He had treated her politely and courteously in the past days at Riverrun, but he was still unfamiliar to her, not like Brandon whom she had expected to marry. He was a stranger, even though he would be her husband in less than an hour, and when they were married they would live in a place that was strange to her as well. And tonight…tonight she would give him her maidenhead, and even if he was a good man and polite and courteous she couldn’t imagine that being very comfortable, and there was a part of her that didn’t want to leave her room and go down to the sept and be married.

But she would do it. It was her duty, and it would not be so dreadful, and she would do it. Before she got up, though, she bowed her head and prayed to the Seven. She asked for the strength to face what lay ahead that day. She asked that she might be a good wife. And she asked, fervently and sincerely, that she might be happy in her husband.

When she met Eddard downstairs, she saw that he looked nervous too. But when he took her hand, he squeezed it in his own, and Catelyn smiled at him as she raised her head and prepared to walk into the sept.


	37. And She Was Beautiful (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At a party, Catelyn can't help feeling jealous when Ned's ex-girlfriend shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the prompt "Can you do a NedCat fic where they both have a bout of jealousy, and the other lets them know how ridiculous that is?"

Catelyn had been looking forward to Lyanna’s graduation party. She hadn’t spent much time with the rest of the Starks recently, not since she’d started dating Ned. She’d thought it was better to avoid it at first because of Brandon–they hadn’t ended that badly, but she’d still wanted to give it a little time, all things considered–and of course, they all had busy lives. But she really did like Ned’s family, and she was glad of the chance to catch up with them.

She and Ned got to his dad’s house on the early side, but even so, there were already plenty of people there. They found Lyanna quickly enough, though; she was leaning against the counter in the kitchen, and she smiled and waved when they came in. “Hi!” she said, leaning in to hug Ned and then Catelyn in turn. “I’m so glad you both came. It’s been way too long, Cat.”

“I’m glad we came too,” Catelyn said. “Congratulations on graduating!”

“Thank you,” Lyanna said. “I’m so glad to be done.”

“Ned! Cat!” Catelyn turned to see Brandon walking towards them. She wasn’t quite sure how to act. It wasn’t as though she disliked Brandon, but he was still her ex-boyfriend, and seeing him again, with the way he was grinning, did remind her of how things had been at the end, when she’d just gotten too tired of the way he flirted–and flirted and flirted and sometimes more than flirted–with every woman who came his way. But he was Ned’s brother, after all, and, for Ned’s sake, she didn’t want to make things difficult. 

So she smiled back. “Hi, Brandon,” she said. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Great to see you too,” Brandon said. “You look great.” He hugged her quickly. “So, what have you been up to?”

“Nothing too exciting,” she said. “Teaching. Spending time with Ned.” 

“Well, it really can’t be too exciting, then,” Brandon said. “There’s no one who likes to sit around the house more than Ned.”

Catelyn didn’t know what to say to that. It was true that she and Ned spent a lot less time out and about than she and Brandon ever had, but that was one of the things she liked. She liked that she and Ned could sit around and talk together–she’d thought he was really quiet when they first met, but when it was just the two of them he had plenty to say–or work on their own projects side by side. She liked it when they cooked dinner together and ate at home. She liked the lazy mornings they spent in bed together…the way he touched and kissed her…

“We have a good time,” she ended up saying. She had a feeling that her thoughts were making her blush. 

Brandon just laughed and said, “If you say so,” and she decided that it might be best to change the subject. 

“How about you?” she said. “What have you been doing?”

Brandon had always liked to talk about himself, and he was off now, telling her about a trip he’d taken for work. She was only half-listening when she heard Lyanna say, “Hi, Ashara! I’m glad you could make it.”

Catelyn didn’t know Ashara Dayne very well. She’d been with Ned when Catelyn and Brandon had first started going out, but they’d broken up not too long after. Ned never talked about her, not even a casual mention, which sometimes made Catelyn wonder what had happened. She was gorgeous, tall and curvy with dark hair and amazing eyes, and she was smiling at Ned now, and his voice as he said, “Hi, Ashara,” sounded flustered, and Catelyn wondered why she’d been invited.

“Hi,” Ashara said. “Thanks for having me. It’s wonderful to see you all again.” Her eyes stopped on Catelyn. “It’s Catelyn, right? How are things with the two of you?” Her gesture encompassed Catelyn and Brandon.

“Over,” Brandon said, his voice cheerful enough. “My loss.”

Catelyn wanted to roll her eyes, but she tried to laugh. “I’m seeing Ned now, actually.”

“Oh, really?” Ashara said. “Lucky girl.” What did she mean by saying that?

“Lucky me,” Catelyn said. It sounded weird even to her. And when she saw Ashara take Ned’s hand, she didn’t feel the slightest bit lucky.

“It has been so long, Ned,” Ashara was saying. “Tell me everything.”

“There’s not that much to tell,” Ned said. His voice still sounded strange, and Catelyn wondered why he thought that–did he think that their relationship wasn’t worth talking about? “I…I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Well, Lyanna invited me,” Ashara said. “It was a very nice surprise.”

“I hadn’t seen you in forever,” Lyanna put in, and Catelyn couldn’t help wondering about that too. It was normal, surely, not to see your brother’s ex-girlfriend anymore? Had Lyanna invited her because she wanted her and Ned to get back together for some reason? She sternly told herself that she was being ridiculous, that something like that would never happen. But then she thought about the way Ned always avoided the subject of Ashara. She’d thought that it meant things had ended badly between them, but could it mean that he still missed her? She hadn’t caught what Ned had just said to Ashara, but Ashara was laughing now, laying a hand on his shoulder, and Catelyn bristled. Ned didn’t say things to make people laugh. He only said things like that to her…

“Get you a drink, Cat?” Brandon asked. 

“Sure,” she said. “Actually, I’ll come with you.” She didn’t want to be watching this. 

Catelyn got a glass of wine, and she and Brandon stood together near the drinks table. “It really is good to see you again,” Brandon said. “No hard feelings, right, Cat?”

Another question that she didn’t know quite how to answer. She settled for a quick shake of the head. She didn’t want to get into this, not when she was already worried that Ned might be pining for his own ex. 

“Good, good,” Brandon said. “And things are good with you and Ned?”

“I think so,” Catelyn said. “Yes.”

“Good,” Brandon said again. “You know I like to tease him, but I’m sure you guys are good together.”

They were good together. At least she had thought so. Suddenly Catelyn felt that she had to be back beside Ned right now. “I’m going to go find him,” she said. “See you later, Brandon.” 

She went back into the kitchen, but Ned was no longer there. Lyanna shrugged when Catelyn asked if she knew where he was, and Catelyn felt a flash of worry when she noticed that Ashara wasn’t in the kitchen either. Maybe the two of them had gone somewhere more private… “I think I’ll run to the bathroom,” she told Lyanna. “If you see him, would you tell him I was looking for him?”

Part of Catelyn’s brain still told her that she was being ridiculous, but most of her was worried as she walked down the hall. She bit at her lip, wondering what was making her so nervous. She’d never had any reason to think that Ned was unhappy with their relationship, but then she knew almost nothing about Ashara. And Ned had definitely seemed not himself when he talked to her. And he’d been pretty much silent until she’d shown up. And she was undeniably gorgeous…

Catelyn was so lost in her thoughts that she almost bumped into someone in the hall. It was Ned, and Catelyn felt relieved to see that he was alone. “Ned,” she said. “There you are. I was looking for you.”

“I thought you’d gone to get something to drink,” Ned said. “With Brandon.”

“I was just grabbing something quickly,” Catelyn said. “I…where’s Ashara?”

“I don’t know,” Ned said. “Why?”

“I…no reason,” Catelyn said. “You were talking, that’s all. I didn’t know she and Lyanna were still in touch.”

“Neither did I,” said Ned. She couldn’t tell from his voice how he felt about that. He was definitely upset about something, though. 

She was almost afraid to ask, but she wanted him to be honest with her. “Are you okay?”

He let out a breath. “I’m not sure.”

“You can tell me,” Catelyn said, “whatever it is.” Was this going to be something that she really, really didn’t want to hear?

But his words weren’t even close to what she expected. “I feel like a jerk even saying it. But I hate the way Brandon was flirting with you. I feel like it doesn’t bother you, and I don’t want to be the guy who says you can’t be friends with your ex, and I know you’re going to have to see each other since he’s my brother–”

“Exactly,” Catelyn said. “Because he’s your brother.” Ned was worried about her and Brandon. He wasn’t saying so in so many words, but she could tell that he thought she might still have feelings for Brandon, who she’d never want to date again in a million years. She almost wanted to tell him that he was being silly, but then she thought about the way she’d been worrying herself.

“Because he’s your brother,” she repeated. “Ned, I don’t like it either. I still feel awkward around him, to be honest. But I thought I should just smile and nod…since he’s your brother and I didn’t want to make things uncomfortable. That’s all it was. I’m not remotely interested in him.”

“It’s just…the way he always talks,” Ned said. “I know we don’t do a lot of exciting things–”

“I love the things we do,” Catelyn said. “I don’t need to be going out somewhere every minute, Ned. I’m happy just spending time with you.” She reached out to touch him. “You don’t have to worry about anything Brandon says or does.”

Ned let out another breath. “I’m sorry, Cat. I feel like an idiot. I just…when you went off with him so fast to get drinks…I was an idiot.”

“I…well, actually…” Catelyn said. She should be honest with him too, after all. “I was just…you were talking with Ashara and I thought you might be…I don’t know, Ned, I was probably being silly, but she seemed…you seemed so flustered…” She swallowed. “She’s so beautiful,” she said quietly.

But Ned took her face in his hands, and with the way he looked at her, she almost didn’t need to hear what he said. “You’re beautiful, Cat,” he said. “You are absolutely beautiful, and if you don’t know that I think that, I should tell you more often.” One hand was stroking her hair. “I probably was a little flustered. I haven’t seen her since we broke up, and I didn’t know that she was going to be here. No clue why Lyanna invited her.”

“You never talk about her,” Catelyn said. “I thought that maybe you missed her.”

Ned looked genuinely surprised. “I don’t talk about her because she’s someone I dated over a year ago. Am I supposed to talk about her? Would you like it more if I did talk about her?” When he put it that way, Catelyn had to laugh. The whole thing seemed pretty ridiculous now, as Ned pulled her close. “Seeing her might have taken me off-guard a little. But I definitely don’t have feelings for her.” 

Catelyn smiled. “And I definitely don’t have feelings for Brandon,” she said. “There is something I do have feelings for, though.”

“Oh?”

“Yes,” Catelyn said. “He’s a really sweet guy and I love spending time with him. I’m pretty crazy about him, in fact.” She put a hand on Ned’s cheek. “And I’d like him to kiss me right now.”

God, she loved the way Ned kissed.


	38. Warm Me Up (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catelyn gets cold at night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt "Ned & Cat's freezing feet :D".

Catelyn seemed to be asleep when Ned came to her bedchamber that night. He’d had many letters to answer, which had kept him from retiring as early as he might have wished. Not wanting to disturb her, he undressed quietly and then slipped into the bed beside her, preparing to go to sleep himself.

All was still for a few moments, until he suddenly felt an icy foot pressed against his leg. He started, taken by surprise, and he heard Catelyn giggling beside him. “Hello.”

“You aren’t asleep?” he asked.

She snuggled closer to him, her cold feet brushing his legs again. “No.”

“You should sleep,” Ned said. “You need your rest.” He placed a hand over her belly. She was nearly six moons gone with the babe–this one would be their fourth–and he always felt especially tender towards her at these times, always wanting to make completely certain that she and the child she carried were safe and well.

“I am well, Ned,” Catelyn said. “But I get cold when I’m by myself.” 

“You sound like Sansa,” he teased her. At two, Sansa had gone through a spell of not liking to sleep in her own bed. Every night without fail, she had appeared in Catelyn’s chambers, always with some reason that she needed to sleep there–she’d had a bad dream, or it was too dark in her room, or she had something to tell them. They had gotten her past it after a while, but, even a year later, it was what came to Ned’s mind when Catelyn said that she was too cold to sleep alone.

“It’s true, though,” Catelyn said. “See?” She pressed her foot to his leg yet again.

“I believed you the first time,” he said, moving his leg away. “Here, let me help.” He shifted his position and took her feet in his hands, rubbing them gently to warm them.

Catelyn sighed. “That feels nice, Ned.” She rested her head against his shoulder. “Did you finish your letters?”

“Yes,” he said. “Everything’s in order for the moment.”

“I’m glad,” she said. They were both quiet for a few moments, but there was nothing uncomfortable about the silence. Ned found talking to Catelyn easier than talking to anyone else, but they also didn’t need to talk every moment. They both were content to spend time quietly together, often, as now, touching, simply enjoying each other’s presence.

“Are you comfortable?” he asked her.

Catelyn nodded against his neck. “Yes.”

“Are you warm now?” Her feet were no longer icy under his hands, so he was surprised when she shook her head. “Are you really still cold, Cat?”

“Oh, very,” she said, and he could hear a smile in her voice. “I think you could be doing a bit more to help me get warm.”

“Perhaps I could,” Ned said, releasing her feet and drawing her closer to him. “Is there anything particular you’d like?”

Catelyn’s only answer was a kiss and a hand slipping down to grab his bottom, and Ned Stark set to work making sure that his wife was very warm indeed.


	39. Always (Catelyn/Ned)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six word fic for Catelyn x Ned.

She cannot stop thinking of him.


End file.
